Midnight Moon
by Uchiha B
Summary: She was trying to escape her dark past, and live as a normal person. Unfortunately for Kagome, her dreams for a normal life is gone the instant she meets the Cullens. Twilight/Inuyasha xover
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: Kagome/Edward, Jacob/Bella

A/N: Sorry if this chapter sucks, and if any information is wrong, it's been a while since I've read Twilight, a few years maybe.

There is a slight reference to Bleach with Kagome's new last name as 'Kuchiki'

* * *

Emerald-green eyes glanced around; an almost non-existent smile could be seen on the person's pale and pretty face. _'This place…' _She thought, her coal-black hair soaked by the wet, cool air. _'Is perfect.' _

Higurashi Kagome lifted a delicate hand to the air, the rain gathering in her palm rather quickly. _'He'll never find me here.' _Kagome thought, looking up at the grey sky. Her smile grew a bit, shoving her hands into the pockets of her nice black coat.

In the state of Washington, U.S.A, a small town of Forks existed. The small town was under an almost constant-cover of grey rainclouds, rain was almost a daily occurrence. It really was perfect to Kagome, as she was on the run.

She had to escape her old life, especially with the way things were going for her now. It had been over a year since she had been dragged into Feudal Japan through the magical well that existed on the shrine grounds. It was her doing that by which Naraku was defeated, and the Shikon no Tama purified for good. The jewel seemingly disappeared, but Kagome knew it was still probably resting somewhere in her body – or perhaps even her uncompleted soul.

Kagome was the intended mate of Inuyasha. However, due to their rather famous standing in the past, they had been targeted numerously by both humans and demons. One horrible night, it had actually happened, her intended mate, Inuyasha, was killed by a demon. It was his human night, the night of the new moon, and Kagome was not there to protect him from the demons. She was in the future, going back to the past to find her worst nightmare.

Her mate was gone – forever.

Kagome, of course, was devastated. Inuyasha's death, that and along with the murder of her family, courtesy of another youkai, simply sent her into a spiralling depression that seemed impossible to get out of. No matter what Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, or even Kaede tried to do, it just didn't work. They all decided that it was for the best for Kagome to go back into her own time, even if by force.

Even then, it still wasn't the end of her problems.

According to pack law, she was now Sesshoumaru's responsibility. She didn't want that, she didn't want to be a burden to him. The inu taiyoukai saw very differently from her. She was immediately named heiress of the cardinal western lands as he had no mate and no pups. Kagome didn't want that either, the responsibility was tremendous and she knew that she could not handle it. The dog demon either did not understand or he simply didn't care.

Sesshoumaru also named her heiress of his company in the modern times, an electronics company that made Sesshoumaru one of the richest men in the world. Kagome knew that she could not handle that either, though the dog did not listen.

Kagome knew that she could not do any of that, she just had to escape. She still needed to time to grieve for her family and for Inuyasha. This is where her plan came into place.

With the help of Sesshoumaru's mother, who she had the 'pleasure' of meeting, she had escaped to the United States without Sesshoumaru's knowledge. Of course, Sesshoumaru's mother, Sakuya, didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart; she mostly did it for herself. With Kagome gone, Sakuya gained everything that she had, the western lands and the company (of course only if something ever happened to Sesshoumaru, which was very unlikely).

So Sakuya gave Kagome a couple million dollars to escape and try to attempt to make a new life for herself. Sesshoumaru, with the millions he made everyday, would never notice a couple missing millions.

Kagome had to find a place in which Sesshoumaru would never find her in. It was pretty simple to her, a large country with a large population of humans. That pretty much left her with a few choices. Either Russia or the United States of America. The choice was rather easy for her to make, as she heard that Russia had some pretty bad violence going on. That and Russian was a pretty hard language to master, English was just a tad easier.

The next thing to do was find a small town in which to blend in, a town that preferably rained a lot. Forks, Washington was the perfect choice. It was small and cloudy almost all year round, the rain would wash away her scent if, by chance, Sesshoumaru ever found out where she was staying.

Kagome bought a small, cozy home, only enough for one person, with her money. Of course, she bought just on the outskirts of the small town for her own privacy. Also, since she was only sixteen, she had to attend high school by law. That was fine with her, she would merely keep a low profile and try not to socialize with other people.

"Well, Kirara, this is the start to our new life." Kagome muttered to the feline, whose large emerald eyes blinked up at her. The miko smiled a bit, Kirara had learned a few helpful tricks over the past five hundred years she had been living. Since Kirara was a nekomata, she had an ability to shape-shift, as small as it was.

Kirara, on the orders of Kagome, changed into a cat that vaguely resembled Buyo. The feline did that because two-tailed demon cats weren't very common these days, and it would bring up less questions if Kirara was ever seen any anyone else.

Kagome turned back to the cat, giving a small smile. "I'll see you later; I still have to go to school." She said, knowing Kirara would understand her. The feline nodded, curled up her single tail, and dozed off.

'_Great,' _Kagome thought glumly, driving a small car to the new school that she was to attend. Her emerald-green eyes narrowed as she looked to all the teenagers walking along the sidewalks to the school, all the kids lounging around in the school's parking lot. Hopefully, people would just ignore her, even if she was the new girl.

She winced almost immediately, seeing her new, small car seemed to stand out amongst the other cars in the lot. Most were older, more beaten cars; the only car that really stood out was a shiny Volvo. The other students were already staring at her by the time she slowly got out of her car, though she kept her head down and tried to cover her face with her long, messy bangs.

Kagome shoved her hands into the pockets of her dark coat, easily figuring out the entrance to the small high school. Her pale face burned with red as people whispered rather loudly, some even bluntly pointing at her. It was pretty obvious that she was a new student, and she knew that most small towns rarely got new students.

'_Alright, I just have to make it to the office. Hopefully no one will ask to guide me or anything.' _Kagome thought, nervously glancing at some people who looked like they were ready to approach her. It didn't take her all that long to find that office, a small building in the front that held a small sign that read 'front office.'

Kagome pushed the door opened, seeing a woman sitting behind a desk almost immediately. The miko hesitantly approached her, hoping that the woman already knew that she was a new student. The less she had to talk, the better it would be for her.

The woman glanced up, recognition lighting up in her eyes. "Can I help you?" She asked politely, grabbing a piece of paper from one of her desk drawers.

"I'm the new student, Kagome Kuchiki." Kagome said quietly, feeling a foreign taste on her tongue when she used her 'new' surname. To get over to the United States without Sesshoumaru finding her immediately, she had to change some part of her name. Of course, since she couldn't stand being called anything else except her name, she chose to change her last name.

"Oh right, the new student." The woman said warmly, trying to welcome the Japanese girl. "Here you are, Kagome Koo-chee-key." The woman attempted to say her new last name, though failing horribly. Kagome winced at the butcher of the name.

"Thank you." She answered, grabbing the schedule and map of the school.

"Now, you come back here or ask another student to help you if you get lost. I'm sure that anyone will be willing to help you." The woman said kindly, pointing out the best routes for class that she was registered in.

"I will." Kagome said politely, though she knew she would probably not ask other students if she did get lost. She wanted to lay low, the less people she knew, the better it was. Besides, she had no idea if demons existed here or not. If she did make any friends, then they could possibly be put in danger if demons did find her. She had no desire for that. "And thank you." She added, giving the woman a small, forced smile, which the woman returned fully.

"The cafeteria is that way." The woman pointed in the direction as Kagome went to leave. It was already lunchtime as Kagome chose to go only a half-day for the first day.

Kagome walked in the direction as she studied the map, hoping that she would memorise it instead of holding it in front of her face the entire day. Whispers started up again as she walked past the students, she was able to hear them rather easily as her hearing had improved greatly while her time spent in the past.

"She's the new kid?!"

"Yeah, I've heard that she lives alone. No parents or anything!"

"Lucky…"

"Wow, she's so pretty!"

"What's her name again?"

"Something foreign, I don't remember."

"Did she really come from Japan?! But who would want to move here of all places!?"

"How the hell did she afford a house with no parents?!"

"Maybe she's rich?"

"I've heard that she was a model back in Japan."

"No, I've heard that she was involved in 'that' stuff. It's how she makes her money…"

Kagome almost sneered, so rumours were already starting to float around, were they? She had forgotten how immature and shallow some teenagers could be. She, herself, had to forcibly mature at the young age of fifteen, all the death and fighting in the past made sure of that. She had seen things that these people could never understand.

The cafeteria wasn't too hard to find, the majority of students were already there, sitting in their picked tables and seats. Kagome almost smiled as she noticed there were still a few empty tables, somewhere she could sit without anyone else.

'_Should I eat?' _She pondered, thinking she probably should. She had lost a lot of weight in her spiralling depression, she was painfully thin now. However, the smell of the food really turned her off, and she simply chose not to. She would bring food from home the next day.

Kagome sat down near the back, taking a glance out the window to the rain, ignoring the subtle glances that students were throwing her. Some looked like they were ready to approach her, the very opposite of what she wanted.

'_What's… that?' _Kagome widened her newly emerald eyes, feeling something that just wasn't right. It was so different from normal humans, though that wasn't what she found surprising. It was also different from youkai, she simply could not figure what it was. _'Over there—!' _She turned her head over, only to be interrupted by a rather large group of kids.

"So, you're the new girl, right?" A male with greasy black hair and a rather bad skin condition asked her, his friends obviously standing behind, sitting at the table without an invitation. "So, what's your name again?"

'_What?' _Kagome was completely unprepared for the sudden assault, tensing as the people sat on her sides like nothing was wrong. The person on her left was a boy with pale blue eyes, and blond hair. He was rather good-looking for a human at least, but Kagome had seen a lot better.

The person on her right was a girl with curly brown hair and blue eyes and was rather pretty. However, the expression on her face was all that Kagome needed to know that the girl would rather not be there at all.

"How do say your name again?" The black-haired kid asked again, more insistent this time. "I'm Eric by the way." He added.

Kagome blinked, surprised. She didn't want this! "Kagome… Kuchiki." She said quietly, hoping they would leave her after knowing her name. Her hopes were dashed when they didn't.

The blond male to her left stuck his hand out, confusing Kagome for a split second, who had forgotten what the gesture meant. "I'm Mike Newton," He said casually. Kagome hesitantly shook his hand when she finally remembered what the gesture meant. "So, did you really come from Japan?" He asked, rather eagerly.

Kagome did not answer, sighing internally. She waited for the other kids to introduce themselves. So long as they were there, she had to be polite. The males were Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, Tyler Crowley, and Ben Cheney. The two females were Angela Weber and Jessica Stanley. The latter was the girl who looked almost hostile towards her.

Kagome sighed again, answering every question with all the patience she could muster. "Yes, I'm from Japan. I do speak Japanese. Yes, my parents are dead and I live alone." Kagome said, not choosing to answer the question of where she got her money from. It took a while, but the students seemed to finally lose a little interest in her when they figured out that she would not speak on her own, though Mike seemed to be a little too enthusiastic in trying to get her to speak. He finally gave up as well after a while.

Kagome vaguely listened to their conversation, her green eyes observing the room intently.

"Yeah, Bella decided not to come today. I don't why; she said she wanted to spend the day with her new boyfriend, Jacob Black or something." The Jessica girl chattered, completely ignoring Kagome. "You know, her new boyfriend after Edward Cullen dumped her—" Kagome completely lost interest in the conversation, scanning the room once again.

She finally landed her eyes on _them_.

They were completely different, she could tell immediately. They were sitting at a table, far from everyone else as possible. They weren't talking nor eating, their food trays were untouched.

There were three males – one was very big, muscular, and tall. He had slightly curly, dark brown hair. He looked as if he could be a serious weight-lifter, he would easily tower over her petite form by a foot and more. Another male was more lean, but still muscular. He had golden-blond hair, and an almost pained look to his pale face. He was also very tall. The third male was also very tall, slender and lean, untidy bronze-coloured hair. He looked as if he were the youngest of the group.

The two females were the very opposites of each other. The tall one was blond, her hair tailing down her back. She had a very beautiful figure, easily model-worthy, probably making every other girl in the room envious, and every male drool. She was just perfect in every aspect, and looked like she knew it with the superior expression to her beautiful face.

The other female was small, probably ever shorter then herself by a few inches. She had pixie-like features, dark black, spiky hair that seemed to point in all directions. Her body was almost of that of a graceful dancer. She looked to be the happy, enthusiastic type as well.

Kagome frowned, feeling something very off as she stared at them. The miko completely ignored the others as she stared at them subtlety. They were all deathly pale, even a few shades paler than herself. They also had deep purple, bruise-like markings underneath their eyes, something like herself due to lack of much needed sleep. They all were very beautiful – almost inhumanly so…

Kagome's newly emerald-green eyes widened as she realised something, observing them all rather intensely. Perhaps they weren't even human? Demons maybe? But was that ever possible? She had never felt anything like them before… a new type or species of demon? She ignored repeated calls of her name from the teenagers sitting near her, her attention completely on the five… her green eyes widened even more when she glanced towards them again.

It was the first time that she seemed to notice that they were all staring back at her…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Wah! You guys are so flippin' fantastic! I'm so impressed with the reviews! Though it would be nice if you could keep them up, I'll definitely need them to stay motivated or even interested in this story (I'm not much of a Twilight fan)

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'_What the hell are they?' _Kagome thought, her eyes darting away the instant she realised they were staring at her; it was starting to unnerve her. She knew they simply could not be human, most humans felt the same to her. But they didn't feel like demons either, she was at a loss at what they could be.

'_You have to remember, there are more in this world then youkai and demons,' _She reminded herself mentally, trying to keep her emerald gaze off them. It wasn't very hard, she wanted nothing to do with the supernatural, those days were in her past.

She wanted her past behind her, and only wanted to live a normal life.

"So, who are they?" Kagome casually brought up, effectively surprising the group of kids that had decided to sit by her, without her permission, she might add. The Jessica girl seemed angry, most likely because she had interrupted her conversation about this 'Bella,' whoever that was.

The girl's anger seemed to melt away as she finally realised the question that Kagome had asked her. The miko almost sighed out loud, realising that this girl was the gossip type, the type she could no longer stand.

"The Cullens," Jessica answered, the group seemed to have suddenly gone silent, all of them giving some kind of glance towards the Cullens. It either ranged from disinterest, lust, or dislike. "The big, dark-haired one, that's Emmett Cullen. The blond girl sitting beside him is Rosalie Hale. They're like together – you know, like together, _together_." Jessica wrinkled her nose; Kagome didn't really see what the problem was.

"And they, like, live together. It's weird." She nodded, as if confirming her thought. Kagome mentally rolled her eyes, now knowing that she would not like this girl in future, ever.

"The one who looks like he's in pain is Jasper Hale – Rosalie's brother. The small girl sitting beside him is Alice Cullen – they are a couple too," Jessica casually said, turning her blue eyes over to the last one. "The youngest one is Edward Cullen – he's totally gorgeous, isn't he?" She sighed rather wistfully, though Kagome mentally rolled her eyes again. Oh great, a lovesick girl…

"But, apparently, none of the girls aren't good enough for him – well, except for Bella," Jessica finished with a sniff, leaving Kagome wondering who this 'Bella' person was. "But, they eventually broke up – only a while ago, I guess even she wasn't good enough for him." Jessica huffed, turning her eyes away from the Cullen's.

Kagome carefully observed the other student's reaction to the Cullen's. Most of them seemed disinterested, though she could see that Mike apparently did not hold any kind of affection for Edward Cullen – at least, judging by that glare he didn't.

"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids, they all live together." Jessica muttered under her breath, as if this were some kind of secret. "It's really weird."

Kagome could not help but sigh, wondering why it was so weird for the couples to live together. Didn't most couples live together anyways? "Oh, but you shouldn't waste your time on Edward, he doesn't want to date anyone right now – especially after his breakup with Bella." Jessica added, now finished with her lunch.

Kagome almost choked on air, giving Jessica a weird look. Did she ever say that she wanted this Edward Cullen? _'Damn girl just must assume that all females are like her,' _Kagome thought with bitterness, not every girl in the world would faint just because some attractive guy glanced at her. She certainly wouldn't be caught dead doing that – besides, she had seen better than the Cullens' anyhow.

"Hey, do you want me to show you to the rest of your classes?" Mike eagerly broke into the conversation, asking her what she had dreaded most.

"Oh," Kagome glanced away, not wanting to flat-out reject him. She was sure she could get around without any kind of help. She certainly didn't want to socialise this much, it could be dangerous. She was on the run, after all. "Umm, I think I can manage, I don't want to waste your time." She finished politely, giving a forced smile to the blond.

"No, it's no problem," Mike was way too eager for her, reminding Kagome of the dimwitted Hojo. Well, she certainly hoped that Mike could take a hint, then. "What class do you have next?" He asked casually, hoping to impress the new girl by his attitude. It didn't work over so well with Bella, but this girl could be different.

"Biology," Kagome answered, hoping that he didn't have it. She was actually looking forward to biology class, though it wouldn't be much of a pleasure if the too-forward Mike was there. She really wanted nothing to do with males and boyfriends.

"It's too bad," Mike seemed to deflate. "I have Chemistry next. But I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind if I was lat—" Kagome immediately cut him off.

"No, it's fine. I really shouldn't waste your time like that." Kagome said firmly, tensing a bit. She could still feel the Cullens' eyes on her person, examining her. What was their problem? Her eyes suddenly widened, perhaps they could sense that she wasn't a normal human?

To Kagome's great relief, the school bell rang, signalling the end of lunchtime. Good, it meant she wouldn't have to talk to them anymore. She couldn't risk making any friends, not with Sesshoumaru out looking for her.

'_This is just great,' _The miko thought sarcastically, slowly ambling down the hallways, allowing the group to go first. _'This means I'll probably have to avoid any canine from now on.' _Any dog could potentially be Sesshoumaru's subordinates, in dog form on his orders to blend in to better locating her without her knowing. Luckily, she should be able to sense them if they were in disguise…

'_Maybe I should just start to learn Russian now,' _Kagome joked in her mind; Russia was her next stop if Sesshoumaru did manage to locate her whereabouts.

Finding the classroom wasn't that much of a challenge for her, the school was small to begin with. _'Biology should be interesting,' _She smiled; glad to have a class that she excelled in. The best occupation suited for her was definitely a doctor, she had much experience already.

The other thing she really hoped for was that those… beings weren't in the class with her. She didn't know what to think of them – partly because she didn't know what they were exactly. But if they were attending a human school without problems, then they shouldn't really be hostile, she really hoped they weren't anyway.

"Oh, you're the new girl?" The teacher opened the door when she knocked, giving her a welcoming smile. She gave a hesitant smile back, hopes immediately dashed when she located the youngest of the Cullens sitting in the classroom – Edward, if she remembered correctly.

"Kagome… Ku-chi-ki, correct?" The teacher went over her name slowly to pronounce it right, which he actually did. She nodded, walking in the classroom slowly as he opened the door wider. She dreaded the next moments; hopefully she wouldn't have to do the introduction thing. "I'm Mr. Mason."

"Alright class, we have a new student with us. Her name is Kagome Ku-chi-ki, and she comes all the way from Japan. Please treat her nicely." The teacher introduced for her, much to her relief. She gave another forced smile to the now interested-looking class, not liking their looks of curiosity. That never boded well…

"Hmm, it seems that our only seat available is beside Edward – Edward, please raise your hand." Mr. Mason said, the inhuman being raised his hand, rather hesitantly at that. Kagome sighed internally, hoping that she wouldn't have to sit by him, but the hopes were dashed. She slowly walked up to the long table-like desk, sitting down reluctantly.

She didn't even bother to eye Edward, who looked like he was teetering on the edge of his seat just to get away from her. She could see out of the corner of her eye that his hand was in front of his face – yes, it looked casual, but she could tell he was holding his breath. Why, she didn't know.

'_Could I be in…' _Kagome thought, mortified with the thought she was having. She had always seemed to attract demons during her 'heat' cycle; perhaps this Edward had a superior nose? _'Whatever, it's not my problem,' _She dismissed a second later, flipping her textbook open.

Unfortunately for her, the class seemed to be a partner one.

"Alright, class, now look into your microscopes and see if you can spot the—" The teacher ordered, sitting back at his own desk.

Kagome frowned ever so slightly, finally turning to Edward Cullen. He seemingly beat her to it. "Hello, I'm Edward Cullen," He said smoothly, all former traces of discomfort seemed to have vanished. Kagome could see that he did not offer his hand to her, not like Mike had done before.

Kagome gave a fake smile. "Kagome Kuchiki, it's a pleasure to meet you." The miko stated, narrowing her eyes at him ever so slightly. She raised her hand to him, just to see how he would react. It wasn't that good of a reaction of Edward's part; he obviously hesitated, then slowly raised his hand to hers for a handshake.

His hand was ice-cold, but she wasn't affected much. She had experienced this before, demons that lived in colder temperatures tended to have a lower body-temperature. He let her hand go as fast as humanly possible, still very tensed. She smirked slightly, seeing that he was very uncomfortable around her. That was a good thing…

"So, Edward," Kagome began casually, ignoring his piercing glare. Oh, he definitely didn't like her. "Are you any good at biology?" She asked, taking an uninterested glance through the microscope. So, they were studying chromosomes, something that she understood. She had taken some kind of course on demonic genetics back in Japan because Sesshoumaru had told her to. It was generally interesting to her…

"Yes," Edward bit out; she was already having fun riling him up.

"That's good, then!" Kagome said with a fake brightness. "You can help me if I get stuck." She teased, wondering why she was acting this way. She should be laying low, not talking to anyone more than she absolutely had to.

"I… can do that," Edward finally answered, having already taken his glance though the microscope. He didn't understand, and he was very confused.

Just who was this girl?

He couldn't read her mind at all; he had no idea what she was thinking. He didn't like that, it was very frustrating. He wanted to know what she was. He could tell by first glance that she wasn't… normal. The others could see it too, at lunch.

They had turned to Alice, to see if she could see anything. Alice merely blinked, saying that the new girl's future was very hazy and blurry, and even seemed uncertain.

Also, the Cullen's could scent her even before she had entered the lunchroom, her scent was very tempting. If he had to say so, it was even better than Bella's… he had those feelings again, like he wanted to massacre the whole class just so he could have a little taste at the new girl's sweet blood…

Edward fisted his hand, breaking his pencil in half with ease. He really shouldn't be having these desires – not after Bella. He still cared for her greatly, but he had to break it up with her because being with him was just too dangerous. He couldn't change her, he would not damn her to this life – a life of a cold, unfeeling monster…

The bitter venom in his throat suddenly turned sweet as he glanced at Kagome again, who now seemed bored with the project they were assigned. She didn't seem very lost in the class, having answering the questions with apparent ease.

"You're not having trouble, are you, Edward?" Kagome asked, and he could hear an undertone of something in her voice, like she was mocking him…

His dislike of her grew, and he threw her a piercing glare. She was smiling at him with a perfect, little smirk. He couldn't tell what she was thinking and that frustrated him even more. He was just so used to hearing what people thought…

"No," He answered shortly, writing down on his answer sheet rather quickly. He was now wishing Bella was in class, even if it was now awkward between them, but she would've made a very good distraction.

"No need to be hostile, now." Kagome almost snickered, she was actually having fun, and it was distracting her from the grief of the death of her family and Inuyasha. Perhaps living in Forks wouldn't be so bad after all…

Edward gave her another glare, his black eyes darkened even more. The purple bruise-like markings under his eyes stood out even more against his deathly-pale skin. He ran his ice-cold hands through his untidy bronze-coloured hair in an act of frustration, already having enough of his foreign student. She was too different from the other girls… and he wasn't sure how to react to her.

The two remained quiet for the rest of the class, which passed very slowly for Edward as it was a double block of biology. The new girl simply tested the limits of his patience, which was a rather remarkable thing to do.

The class finally ended, much to Edward's relief, who was sure he couldn't stand her intoxicating scent any longer.

"Bye, Edward. It was nice to meet you," Kagome stood up, her books packed. She gave him another smile, much to his annoyance. "I'll see you again soon." She left rather quickly, wanting to get home as soon as possible. Bothering the non-human was fun, yes, but she certainly didn't want to rile him too much. She had no idea what he actually was, and therefore, no idea what he was capable of.

Edward was slowly walking behind her, keeping his black eyes on her the whole time. He had no idea what to think of her.

"So, Edward, was she in your class?" Alice came up bouncing behind him, a bright smile on her attractive face. Edward glanced at her, annoyed with the question.

"Yes," He answered, clenching his fists. She smiled even wider at him, grasping Jasper's hand when he came to stand beside her. Earlier, he had tough time restraining himself. She couldn't blame Jasper either, the new girl had such a lovely and tempting scent, and Jasper did have the hardest time controlling himself around humans…

"So, what I saw was correct!" Alice beamed, happy her vision was correct. The new girl's future was very blurry and hazy to her; it was very hard for her to see.

Edward chose to say nothing, not wanting to talk about her. She was too frustrating for him.

"And her name is Kagome Kuchiki, right?" Alice walked her dance-like steps with Edward and Jasper to the school's exit, going to meet with Emmett and Rosalie.

"Yes, Alice." Edward answered, exasperated. He could still smell her scent, it was flowery and light…

"She's Japanese! That's so fascinating! I want to talk to her!" Alice smiled, practically racing to the exit now. Edward almost sighed while Jasper kept his emotional face on, keeping in pace with Edward. He wasn't sure he wanted to be around the new girl, her scent was way too tempting, even more than the average human…

Rosalie and Emmett were both waiting by Edward's car; both their eyes were completely locked on something. The vampires immediately saw a small crowd of people; all of them were whispering and pointing towards the new girl, who was, surprisingly, with someone – or _something _more like it.

"What is that?" Emmett asked no one in particular when Edward, Alice, and Jasper joined him and Rosalie. He pointed one large hand in the direction; he could recognise the new, foreign girl's nice scent, but not the other one…

Rosalie took a quick whiff of the air, scrunching her nose at the scent. "It almost smells… feline." She said, a quick confused expression landed on her beautiful face.

Alice stood there, unblinking. The vision past quickly, and she was slightly confused by it. It didn't really make that much sense to her…

A little girl of about five, with long, cream-coloured hair, was hugging the life out of Kagome's legs, rubbing her face into the girl's jeans affectionately.

However, it was the little girl's bright, red, ruby eyes that caught the Cullen's attention…

* * *

"Kirara! What are you doing here?!" Kagome hissed under her breath in her native Japanese, so the other kids couldn't understand her. She was completely surprised when she was practically bowled over, a force slamming into her legs.

It, unfortunately, was Kirara, who was obviously more advanced in shape-shifting more than Kagome had originally thought. The nekomata could actually take on a human form, as small as it was.

Kirara currently looked like a five-year-old child; her hair was the same colour as her fur. She still had the black markings, a diamond dotted her forehead, and stripes slashed her wrists. Fortunately, Kirara was clever enough to hide her cat ears and tails, obviously knowing that these humans in this era were ignorant to demons.

Unfortunately, Kirara didn't seem to hide her ruby-red eyes, forgetting that humans didn't have such eye colours, though her pupils were a human round rather than cat-slits.

"Kirara! You shouldn't have shown up here!" Kagome scolded under her breath in Japanese so Kirara could understand her. The cat merely glanced up, sensing something was obviously wrong, judging by her master's tone. Kirara couldn't respond back either, not having the correct vocal cords to speak.

Kagome tensed, slowly facing back, ignoring Kirara, who was still clinging to her legs.

Everyone was bluntly staring at her…

And that included the Cullens once again…

* * *

So, what'd you think?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I got so many reviews again, though not as much as the first chapter, so please keep it up to keep my interest in this story up :3

* * *

"See, told you she was a whore."

"Is that really her kid?!"

"Look at her red eyes! They're freaky!"

"Think she's wearing red contacts?"

"No, maybe she's one of those albino people; I've heard that they had red eyes."

"It can't be her kid! She could only be seventeen tops! The kid looks like she's five already!"

Kirara clung to her legs, looking a bit sorrowful that she had come. Kagome was glaring at the other students, disgusted with all the talk that seemed to have suddenly exploded with Kirara's presence. Kirara, her kid?! They didn't look anything alike!

'_Maybe it really was a mistake coming here,' _Kagome thought with bitterness, maybe she should just go back to Japan and accept the immense responsibilities that Sesshoumaru had set upon her shoulders… _'No! Don't think like that, I still need time for—' _The miko cut her thought short, not wanting to get upset thinking of Inuyasha and her family.

"Come on, Kirara, let's get out of here." Kagome said quietly in Japanese, grasping Kirara's small hand, the cat squeezed back tightly, obviously knowing how Kagome was feeling. She gave one of her low chirp-like mews, trying to cheer her master up. Kagome smiled, it was small, but Kirara felt proud.

Kagome rarely ever smiled anymore.

Kirara suddenly tensed, her red eyes narrowed as she quickly swung in the direction of the threat, her light-coloured hair bristled like fur, and she gave a low hiss.

Kagome blinked, wondering about Kirara's sudden action. "Kirara? What's wrong…" She asked, pausing as she noticed that Kirara was staring at the Cullens, looking as if she would attack any second. "Kirara, stop." The miko ordered firmly, soft enough so only the nekomata could hear her. "They're not threats; at least, I don't think they are yet. We have to lay low, remember?" Kagome petted Kirara's light hair, the child looking as if she were Kagome's favoured pet. "Youkai don't exist here, you cannot reveal yourself."

Kirara stopped her low hissing, but kept her ruby-red eyes alert on the Cullens, who in turn, kept their unusual black eyes on both of them, they all looked very tensed from Kagome's point of view, she did not want to provoke them into an attack, especially with all the human witnesses. "Let's go home, shall we, Kirara?" Kagome said softly, giving a small smile down to the cat in disguise.

The miko lead the nekomata from the school, and to her new car. The students, including the Cullens, kept their eyes upon her, whispering and pointing. It was even worse than that very morning, and Kagome could not help but roll her eyes. _'Pathetic,' _The bitter thought crossed her mind, allowing Kirara to sit in the front seat. She got into the driver seat, quickly pulling out of the parking lot, and to the direction of her new home.

Forks would be even worse than she had originally thought.

* * *

"What the hell is she?" Rosalie hissed quietly, her black eyes didn't move from the car that was quickly pulling away, the human and the little girl were now gone from sight. "Was she—?"

"Well, if she is, then she sure as hell doesn't smell like any vampire I've ever smelled before," Emmett said, also looking in the direction that Rosalie was staring in. It was true; the little red-eyed girl didn't smell like a vampire, but what Rosalie had stated before, a cat. It didn't make much sense, the only thing he could come up with to explain the situation was that the little girl had fed on a cat before coming to the school. But then how would her red eyes be explained? Red eyes on a vampire were present only when the vampire fed on human blood…

"Alice?" Edward turned to the small female, narrowing his black eyes when Alice's vision suddenly went black; he immediately pulled out of Alice's mind to hear the explanation of why her vision suddenly went blank.

They all turned to Alice, also wanting to hear the explanation. "I don't know," Alice simply said, confused. She could only see visions about humans and vampires, it didn't make much sense. There was no way that the little child could be a shape-shifter or a werewolf, her scent would be repulsive if she was, but she smelled like a cat, as Rosalie previously stated. "It's like she's human when we're here at school, but when they get back to their house, the little girl suddenly isn't human anymore," Alice said, it was the best she could come up with.

"That doesn't make much sense," Edward muttered, getting more irritated by the moment. First, the foreign girl getting on his nerves earlier in class, and now this? "Aren't child vampires illegal?" He wondered out loud, well aware of the Volturi's laws on turning children into vampires. The penalty was death…

"We should ask Carlisle," Jasper stated quietly, just as confused as everyone else. The little girl didn't smell like a vampire at all.

"Yeah, he might know," Emmett shrugged, turning to the shiny Volvo that belonged to Edward.

Rosalie followed her mate to the car, the rest of the Cullens' slowly followed after, all still wondering about the small red-eyed child. Edward was the last to get to the car, he was still looking in the direction of where they had left.

Not being able to read Kagome's mind, and now the red-eyed child.

He really hated to admit it, but now he was very intrigued by Kagome Kuchiki.

* * *

"Man, that was an ordeal." Kagome sighed loudly, leaning against the soft couch. She folded her legs up to her chest, green eyes suddenly on the child, who sat in a cat-like position on the opposite couch. The miko could see from Kirara's human expression that she was very guilty, obviously sorry that she had showed up at the school in the first place. Kagome lessened her own expression, giving a soft look to her cat companion.

"Don't worry about it, Kirara, I'm not angry with you," She said thoughtfully, though the stunt did put more attention on her than she wanted. "You were just lonely here by yourself."

Kirara mewed, and in a small blaze of fire, transformed into her original, kitten-like self. She leapt onto Kagome's lap, happy her master forgave her mistake. She curled up her two tails, quickly falling into a light doze.

Kagome smiled at the scene, bringing something else to her full attention. It was a simple newspaper, though that didn't catch her attention at all. It was a crisp, white letter, and it was addressed to her.

'_He didn't have to contact me so soon,' _She thought with a small irritation, glancing at the return address. He, along with Sesshoumaru's mother, Sakuya, were the ones who had helped her escape Japan without Sesshoumaru's notice.

'_I'm sure that Sesshoumaru is probably suspicious of Kouga-kun,' _She thought, ripping open the letter, wondering why the wolf youkai needed to contact her so badly.

The letter was written in sloppy kanji, and was very brief.

_Yo!_

_How are you? I hope that you have settled in nicely, I've heard that it is very rainy in the place you have chosen, good choice, it'll be harder for that dog to track your scent, though stay aware of any normal-looking mutt, they could be Sesshoumaru's underlings._

_I'm staying far away from Sesshoumaru myself, it's only time before he figures out that I had helped you escape. However, this is not why I have decided to contact you so soon. It's about your family._

Kagome widened her eyes, feeling her heart skip a beat, a sharp pain settled into her chest. She gulped slowly, eyes still wide.

_It seems like there are numerous murders happening in Tokyo, all of them are centered around Higure Shrine. The police are saying that it is a serial killer, and I do agree that it is from the same person, but I know it's not a human doing this. I've gone to the scene of the crime myself, and from the scent, it is nothing that I've ever smelled before. It's neither human nor demon, but something else completely. _

Kagome narrowed her eyes, wondering what the hell was going on. So, was her family really just innocent, they weren't targeted because of her and the Shikon? Just a random choice for some serial killer? Her hands clenched until blood streamed down her skin.

_Also, there is something else very important I need to say, and it might upset you. It seems, from the police report that has just been made public, that your little brother, Souta, was not actually at the scene of the crime, his body was not found. They have made a public alert for his whereabouts, hoping that he may still be alive._

Kagome gasped, the pain in her chest suddenly worsened. Was Souta really alive, then? But she… she remembered seeing his limp body, covered in blood!

_I'm on the lookout for him, but so is Sesshoumaru. I hope that I can get to him first if he is still alive, but don't get your hopes up, Kagome. The sick bastard who killed your family could be just doing this to get everyone's hopes that he is still alive. _

_I will contact you again if I do find him._

_Love, from your mate, Kouga._

Kagome sat back, completely ignoring the last bit about the 'mate' part. She stared blankly at the wall, the situation not yet sinking into her mind.

Was her brother really still alive?

* * *

"How was school?" Esme smiled brightly, her inhuman beauty lighting up as she asked her 'children' the question. They all sat at the kitchen table, even though they did not need eat human food, it was still a nice place to gather around and to talk about the day.

Alice was the first to speak, excited to tell. "We have a new student!" She bounced in her seat, very eager to speak to the new girl the next day. "She comes all the way from Japan, her name is Kagome Kuchiki!"

Carlisle and Esme blinked, it was very rare that Forks High School received a new student, the last one was Bella. "Japan? That's interesting," Carlisle stated, he could already see there was much more to this story based on the expression on Edward's face.

"Yes, isn't it?" Alice sighed wistfully, wanting to talk to Kagome badly, though she would have to wait until tomorrow. "She's an orphan, but she is rich. The rumour is that she bought a house, not far here."

"Did you talk to her?" Esme asked, very intrigued, especially by Alice's excited tone.

Alice quickly shook her head. "No, but I will tomorrow." She said with determination, also adding, "She has a very good scent too, it's even better than Bella's!"

Both Carlisle and Esme raised a brow, not many humans smelled as good as Bella did. The girl must be very unique, then.

"Who cares about the human girl," Rosalie suddenly sniffed, more concerned with the red-eyed child they had seen. "It's that kid we have to be worried about," She stated, her nose upturned.

"What child?" Esme blinked, confused at the sudden turn in the conversation.

Edward broke into the conversation. "We think that the new girl has one of those immortal children," He said, both Carlisle and Esme suddenly looked very alarmed at the news. Both knew the punishment one would receive for harbouring an immortal child.

"What makes you believe that?" Carlisle asked calmly, though his eyes were on Edward, very alert.

"Well, when school was over, Kagome was hugged by a little girl; she had red eyes, not normal for a human. She looked only about five," Alice said quickly, but then added, "But I don't think that she's an immortal child, she didn't smell anything like a vampire, she smelled more like a cat."

"A cat?" Carlisle said out loud, surprised by the sudden turn. "You're sure?"

Alice nodded quickly, while the rest slowly nodded, also confused about the little red-eyed girl they had all seen earlier.

Carlisle looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well," He said slowly, "You should not assume that this child is a vampire just yet, wait until you confirm it," He warned. "And if this child really is a vampire, we will have to confront this Kagome."

The Cullens' all nodded; they didn't really want to confront Kagome anyway. They could make a mistake, and reveal about vampires when it wasn't needed. The last thing they wanted to do was relocate again, Forks was the perfect place to blend in with all the rainy weather.

Edward finally saw this moment to say what had been on his mind all day long.

"I can't read her mind."

* * *

Kagome slowly made her way to her new school, already very tired. She had virtually gotten no sleep the previous night, thinking about the Cullens, trying to figure out what they really were. She had come up with absolutely nothing; she simply had no clue as to what they really could be.

'_Well,' _She thought dully, _'At least Kirara won't show up unexpectedly today.' _The miko sighed, not sure how the students would react to her today. The majority of them probably thought Kirara was her daughter or something, no matter how ridiculous the very thought sounded. She was far too young to have a child that appeared five-years-old…

'_I'm here early,' _She sighed again, looking out to the rainy weather. She frowned, not having any opinion on the rain. She used to love the rain before, but now she wasn't so sure anymore. Inuyasha had been killed on a rainy night…

'_At least I can study some of the math,' _The miko thought, already sulking at the thought of math. She was completely clueless in the subject. She had just barely managed to pass grade nine, and didn't even attend grade ten at all due to her trips to the past, her knowledge in mathematics was nil.

She pulled into the parking lot, glad to see virtually no one was around. Most of the students either haven't arrived yet, or they were inside to be sheltered from the rain. _'Good, I don't want to talk to anyone,' _She thought dully, sitting on the front steps of the school, just underneath the roof so she wouldn't be soaked.

Kagome pulled out her math textbook that she had received the previous day, flipping it open. She sighed, immediately not getting any of it. It simply looked like a foreign language to her.

"You look deep in thought," A soft, deep voice cut through her thoughts, Kagome slowly turned to see who had spoken to her. She had been so busy with the math book that she didn't even sense any presence behind her.

It was one of the Cullens, Jasper, if she remembered correctly. He was standing a few feet away from her, a small dark-haired girl was right behind him, she was grinning widely, the smile lit up her attractive face. Though, that was not what Kagome's attention. Their eyes were a light gold colour, not a black like they were the previous day.

"Oh," Kagome looked away, slightly uncomfortable in their presence. "Yeah, I'm not that great at math." She said dully, setting the textbook in her lap.

"Hi!" The dark-haired girl said brightly, quickly sitting down beside Kagome with an inhuman grace. "I'm Alice!" She smiled even wider, though Kagome did notice that she did not offer her hand for a shake, just as Edward the day before.

"Er – nice to meet you?" Kagome winced, the greeting had sounded more a question than a statement, she hoped that they were not offended. They were not, they ignored as if she had never said it in the phrase of a question.

"So, you really come from Japan? Is it beautiful there?" Alice asked, practically bouncing in her spot. Kagome blinked, not ready for the enthusiastic girl so early in the morning.

"Yes, it's very… beautiful there," Kagome sighed wistfully, though she was thinking more of Feudal Japan then anything. Modern Japan was polluted and crowded.

"Your eyes are very interesting," Jasper said quietly, Kagome blinked, just remembering he was there. "They are different colours."

Kagome widened her eyes, not realising it. She had barely glanced at herself in the mirror that morning, so she obviously didn't notice it. _'Inuyasha's influence must be wearing off… already!' _Kagome thought, sucking in a deep breath, that sharp pain settled back into her chest. _'The yellow must've faded from one eye already,' _The miko thought with bitterness, finally realising that one eye must be her natural blue while the other was still green. After all, blue plus yellow makes green...

"Oh, yeah. I was… born with it; I just usually wear a coloured contact to cover it." Kagome explained slowly, panicking internally on what to say. The explanation was just good enough. After all, it wasn't very common that people had two different coloured eyes, the contact excuse sounded plausible.

"You're not good at math? Jasper and I can help you with it!" Alice said brightly, and Kagome glanced towards her, not sure what to think of the cheerful girl.

"I don't want to bother you," Kagome said politely, though it was pointless when Alice quickly grabbed the math book from her lap.

"No, it's fine. We're good at math." Alice said firmly, not taking 'no' as an answer. She wanted to make friends with the new girl. It could also help them figure out what that little girl was.

"Alright," Kagome sighed, not in the mood to argue, she was too tired. Alice smiled brightly again, handing the book back to her.

"Are you free after school? You can meet us then," The vampire said, hoping that the new girl would bring up something about the child. The vision was just too blurry for her to see correctly, so she didn't know if Kagome would or not.

"Oh," Kagome blinked, worrying about Kirara. The nekomata might show up again if she were late. The two-tailed cat was overprotective of her, most likely because of how fragile her emotions had become, especially after the death of Inuyasha and her family…

'_Souta,' _The pained thought ran over her mind, but she desperately tried to ignore the pang it caused her. "Umm, well, I don't really think I can because—" She was cut off by Alice.

"Because of that little child, right?" She asked softly, both she and Jasper were raised to complete attention.

"Yeah… Kirara. I'm her… guardian of sorts." Kagome closed her mismatched eyes, hoping that neither would ask her more about Kirara. It would seem odd to others that she would leave the 'five-year-old' child at home alone, though Kirara was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"Kirara? That's a cute name!" Alice smiled, not mispronouncing the name at all, not like most people did in this country. "But I did notice yesterday that she had red eyes…" Alice left off, hoping that Kagome would answer.

"Oh," Kagome winced, quickly coming up with an excuse. "Yeah, it's some sort of… mutation in her genes, I think." The excuse was lame, but it was the only thing she could come up with in such a short period of time.

Jasper carefully caught Alice's golden eyes with his own, secretly conveying that Kagome was lying. He could tell easily, though her emotions were rather chaotic. Depression seemed to be the strongest… the human girl was obviously sad about something.

Alice nodded slightly at Jasper, suddenly sitting straight, her eyes unblinking. The vision passed quickly, and she turned to her left, seeing the old, red truck pull into the parking lot. Jasper glanced up as well; the pained look to his beautiful face grew.

Kagome also looked up when Alice went quiet, looking towards a person walking towards them slowly. She had average features, brown hair and brown eyes; though had a pretty, but pale face. Her eyes were on Alice and Jasper, and then finally landed on Kagome, a confused look grew.

Alice smiled lightly, standing up to her small height.

"Hello, Bella…"

* * *

A/N: Simple fanfiction mathematics here, the more reviews = quicker updates :3

Also, can the Cullens actually eat human food? I know they would prefer not to, but can they? I would really appreciate if someone could answer this question for me, I can't remember because it's been a few years since I read Twilight.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I don't really think that immortal children had an age range, so for this story children 10 and under are considered as immortal children

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

It was dark out; the sky had descended into a dark black, though no stars could be seen from the ground due to the numerous artificial lights that humans had created.

Quiet, almost non-existent, footsteps sounded across the pavement, the small figure leaned heavily on the side-wall, desperately trying to keep his balance. He panted harshly, feeling that dreaded pain consume his stomach once again. He grasped it, clenching his sharp teeth, and trying to hold down the desperate thirst.

It didn't work in the very least, it only made to make things that much worse. The small figure groaned out loud, very much in pain. _'Where – where is she?' _The boy thought desperately, not sure where exactly he was heading.

He was very far from Higure shrine, very far away from his home. That didn't matter to him anymore though; no one was there to welcome him. Mama was gone, Jii-chan was gone, and Nee-chan was missing. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened, all he could remember was his Kaa-san's screams before a blinding, wretched pain consumed his young body.

It had lasted for days if he remembered right, but then it had suddenly gone, the pain was no more. But then he felt another pain, not as consuming as before, but it had hurt badly. Those were the times he absolutely dreaded, after the pain controlled his body, he remembered nothing. He then woke up; in places he didn't remember ever being before. However, what frightened him most was that he seemed to be covered head-to-toe in blood, and even more disturbing yet was that he very much enjoyed, even loved, the coppery scent of it.

'_Nee-chan will help me – she'll know what to do.' _Higurashi Souta thought, walking slowly yet gracefully through the night, his vision was so clear that it surprised himself. He didn't know what was going on, but it was scaring him, he didn't know was happening to him. This was why he had to find his sister, she would help him.

'_Where is she?' _He thought, wincing against his stomach pain. Oh, he was just so hungry…

A familiar house instantly caught his attention, and he turned to it inhumanly fast, he felt a slight relief underneath the paining hunger. _'She'll know where Nee-chan is,' _Souta thought, quickly moving towards the house. The lights were all on, so he knew that someone had to be home – maybe they could help him.

Souta knocked on the door loudly, gripping his own arms tightly, wrapping them around his stomach while shivering violently. It was only a few moments later when the door opened, a familiar face appeared before him.

"S-Souta?!" Eri widened her brown eyes, feeling all the breath leave her lungs at the sight of the boy. "Y-you're okay?!" She gasped, having heard the news about the Higurashi family. It was horrible, especially how violent the deaths were. It had relieved her immensely that Kagome-chan had made it out alive, having been with her two-timing boyfriend at the time, but Souta?!

She had heard that he may have still been alive, and that there was an alert out for his whereabouts, but she never expected him to actually be alive! And show up at her house of all places!

"Do – do you know where Nee-chan is?" Souta panted, allowing his eyes to be seen from underneath his long, black bangs. Eri gasped even louder at the sight of them, suddenly feeling very wary and even frightened.

They were no longer an exotic smoky blue-grey, but a deep red, almost black in appearance. "S-Souta, w-what happened to you?!" Eri stuttered, backing away a step unconsciously. The boy was very different from the last time she had seen him.

Souta had always been a good-looking boy, but this was just weird. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, he was that beautiful. His once tanned skin was deathly pale; his eyes were a deep crimson-black, and purple bruise-like markings spotted underneath each eye. He was shivering violently, grabbing his stomach in obvious pain.

"Where's Nee-chan?" Souta growled, lifting his reddish-black eyes to Eri's frightened brown eyes; the scared girl took a hesitant step back.

"K-Kagome-chan went to the United States, w-what happened to you, who did this?" Eri gulped down her fear, trying to muster up her courage. What was she doing? Why was she so afraid of Souta? He was only a ten-year-old boy; she shouldn't be frightened of him…

Souta didn't answer, merely staring at his sister's friend very intently, hunger plain within his eyes. "J-just stay here, Souta. I'm gonna call the police, okay?" Eri reluctantly allowed Souta to step into her house, against her better judgement. She was really wishing her parents were home now…

"I—" Souta suddenly moaned in pain, hunching over and desperately grabbing his stomach. Eri gapsed in concern, kneeling down in front of his fallen form, patting his back anxiously, and trying to desperately to ignore the voice in her head screaming at her to get away.

Souta lifted his head, his eyes turning a complete black, giving a low snarl towards the human girl. She screamed in fright, now knowing there was something very wrong with Souta. It was only a split second, but the pain in her neck was the most painful thing she had ever experienced.

The scream came to abrupt stop as the life quickly left her, her brown eyes grew dull and soulless. Souta ripped his mouth away from Eri's throat, licking at the blood that coated his lips feverishly, consuming the red liquid with desperation.

"I'm so thirsty…"

* * *

"Hello, Bella." Alice said lightly, standing up to greet the brown-haired girl. The brunette gave a small, awkward smile back, obviously uncomfortable.

"Hey, Alice," The girl known as Bella said back quietly, her brown eyes looking at Kagome with curiosity. She didn't say anything, merely gripping her book bag tighter.

"Umm, I'll see you later," Bella suddenly said, quickly moving past the three, moving out of the heavy rain and into the school. She gave one final glance back towards Kagome, blinking with curiosity. She wondered why the Alice and Jasper would be hanging around a human when they usually tended to keep to themselves…

Alice sighed at Bella's abrupt departure, having seen it before it actually happened. Yes, Bella and Edward were no longer a couple, but it didn't mean they still couldn't be friends. Alice really did have a good time shopping with her before; she was very fun to dress…

'_Although,' _The petite black-haired vampire glanced back to Kagome, her grin widening. _'This human will be even more fun to dress! Her black hair would match most colours!' _Alice thought with glee, bouncing back to Kagome.

"So, err—" Kagome blinked, wondering about the girl. It must've been the girl that Jessica was talking about, Bella. "Who was that?" She asked timidly, she didn't want to be in the presence of these two… beings, but Alice wasn't really giving her a choice in the matter. She certainly was hyper for a non-human…

"That was Bella Swan – she is Edward's ex-girlfriend," Alice answered, sitting back down beside the human girl. She took in a deep breath; the intoxicating scent filled her nose. "She's very nice," Alice added, maybe Kagome could be friends with Bella; it certainly would be good for the private brunette.

"Oh," Kagome sighed, she couldn't make friends with the girl, having figured out what Alice was implying.

"So, when is your lunch period?" Alice suddenly changed topic, not forgetting about the math issue. She was determined to make friends with Kagome. Nothing would deter her.

"Err – after my second block." Kagome answered, having memorised her schedule for the day. She had history first, then P.E, and then lunch break. Unfortunately, math was right after lunch, she dreaded the period already, she was horrible at math.

"That's too bad," Alice seemed to deflate, pouting a bit. "My lunch break is after my third block, but Jasper's is second block!" Alice suddenly brightened, grabbing onto Kagome's arm. "And so is Edward's! They can help you!" She smiled brightly; Kagome frowned instantly at the mention of Edward.

"Well—" The miko was suddenly cut off the bell, signalling the start of school. "I have to go," Kagome suddenly stood up, giving Alice and Jasper a small, forced smile. She left quickly, sighing in relief when they didn't follow her. She really wanted nothing to do with them, they were not humans.

Alice turned to Jasper, who had suddenly let out his breath. She couldn't blame him; the human's scent was just so divine. "Well?" She asked quietly, wanting to know about Kagome's emotions, and why she just seemed to scream 'Depressed!'

"Her emotions are very chaotic, something traumatic has happened to her," Jasper answered his mate quietly, though there was something else that attracted him to Kagome. She had the same haunted look that he, himself, possessed. It was simply unmistakable.

"She has seen war."

* * *

Kagome sat in the desk she was just assigned, very glad that she didn't have to introduce herself in front of the class this time. People still stared at her, whispering amongst themselves. Some where snickering, whispering loud enough so she could hear what they were saying, which weren't very pleasant. _'Pathetic,' _The miko thought bitterly, it seemed that none of them were over the sight of Kirara the previous day.

"Who was that girl yesterday?" A sudden, seductive voice asked her, effectively surprising her. Kagome slowly turned to Edward, whom she unfortunately had to sit by again. She frowned at him, his topaz eyes burned into her mismatched eyes.

"Is that really your concern?" Kagome answered with disinterest, Edward's eyes seemed to darken considerably. She fought the urge to smirk, though held it back. Riling up Edward seemed to be the highlight of her day, making him angry was rather fun.

Edward's ethereal face tightened, and he threw a piercing glare towards the human. Why couldn't she just answer him? "Is she your… daughter like everyone is saying?" He already knew the red-eyed child was definitely not Kagome's child; their scents were very different from each other's.

"Sheesh, Edward, and here I thought highly of you," Kagome sneered, her tone was obviously sarcastic. "Do you really like to listen to idle gossip and rumours?" The miko snickered, Edward's golden eyes darkened in anger.

He suddenly stiffened, turning to the front of the class when Bella walked in, his eyes locked onto her brown eyes. She quickly looked down, awkwardly walking past his desk to her own. She didn't say a word to him, Edward stiffened even more when the repulsive scent of a wolf covered Bella; it was obviously Jacob Black's.

'_This is for Bella's own good, he is more ideal for her,' _Edward thought, wishing he could just leave the class now. It was just too awkward between him and Bella now; she barely spoke to him anymore.

"You alright, Edward?" Kagome asked suddenly, though there wasn't much concern in her tone. She had seen the whole thing between Edward and Bella, though she didn't have much sympathy for him. He shouldn't even be playing with a human, toying with her like that.

"Fine," Edward clenched his teeth, the burning venom in his throat was sickly sweet. The urge to bite the new human girl was overwhelming, he couldn't believe it. It was ever more overpowering then when he had first seen Bella. He swallowed thickly, forcing the venom back down. He wanted to desperately ignore Kagome, but he had to figure out of that child she had with her was an immortal child or not.

"Class, settle down and do your assigned work," The teacher ordered, sitting back down on his own desk. The class slowly got to their work, none of them were very fond of history that much.

Kagome sighed, running her hand through her long, black hair. She had always been good at history, but for countries that were located in the eastern hemisphere. She knew virtually nothing of America's history. The teacher had given her a sheet of paper with ten, random history questions on it, just to see what her knowledge of America's history was.

_In what year did the American Revolution begin?_

The miko closed in eyes in frustration, not knowing the answer at all. _'It was sometime in the 1700's, at least I think it was,' _She thought, sighing while she skipped over to the next question.

_In what year did the Spanish-American war take place?_

Kagome really felt like slamming her head against her desk, she had no frikin' clue of when the damn war took place. School already seemed that much harder if these were just the beginning questions. She could be back in Japan, living the cozy life of the rich – then again, she cared nothing for money. She wanted her freedom, and Sesshoumaru didn't seem all that willing to give it to her.

_Name as many American presidents as you can_

Kagome bit her lip, closing her eyes again. _'Alright, just start from the first one and go on from there,' _She thought, letting out her breath. Nothing seemed to come to mind and she grew even more frustrated. It seemed that her favourite subject had suddenly become her worst…

Her teeth dug into her lip even harsher, breaking the skin. A small droplet of blood dripped down her lips, and a loud sudden movement broke into her thoughts.

Everyone looked up as Edward abruptly left the classroom, his hand covering his nose. "Cullen!" The teacher got up, then sighed, realising it was pointless. He ordered the class to sit back down and get back to work.

The class grumbled, feeling bitter that Edward got out of the class and that he seemed to get special treatment. Kagome did not get back to her work as she should have, looking in the direction that Edward had suddenly left in. She stiffened immediately when she felt eyes piercing into her person, turning slowly around to glance behind her.

It was Bella Swan; her brown eyes were looking solely to her. Kagome merely raised a brow in the girl's direction, not seeing the problem. Bella, sensing Kagome's own gaze, dropped her eyes back down to her work, not glancing back up again.

Kagome sighed, realising that Bella must still have some sort of feelings towards Edward.

She licked the droplet of blood of her lip, eyes growing wide as she finally got why Edward suddenly felt the need to leave the classroom. Her arm shot up on her own accord, before she even knew what she had done.

"Yes?" The teacher raised his brow, answering her raised arm.

"May I go to the bathroom?" Kagome asked politely, standing up when the teacher gave her permission to do so. The miko ignored Bella's gaze once again, quickly walking out of the classroom once again.

'_Edward enjoys blood, then.' _Kagome thought, unconsciously wiping her lip, looking around the empty hallways, searching for the non-human being. She still was uncertain as to what kind of being he may be; he didn't feel like any demon she had ever felt before.

'_This is completely stupid,' _She thought, frowning at her own actions. Why would she go searching for something that could be a potential threat? She certainly didn't want to provoke him nor didn't she really even want to approach him either. If she did, then she would have to reveal about her own powers, something which she didn't want to do. If she could, she would avoid using her spiritual powers all together.

Searching the halls seemed to be a futile effort, so she simply went to the front entrance, pushing the door open to the outside, and breathing in the humid, fresh air. Edward was not far from the entrance, he was leaning against his shiny car, and his form was tense while his hand was still in front of his handsome face.

He was staring at her, the hostile look pierced into her eyes, and she frowned. Kagome bit her lip again, biting into the skin to see if her theory was correct. Again, a small drop of blood form into her lips, and Edward, once again, stiffened.

He seemed to snarl at her, it was a low sound that pleasantly rang against her ears. "What's wrong, Edward?" She asked rather apathetically, she glared back at him when his… now black eyes pierced into her.

Before she even knew it, she was pushed back against the wall of the school rather harshly; her back slammed against the wall. It hurt, but she merely ignored the pain, struggling to get out of Edward's strong and relentless grip. "Let go!" She demanded darkly, feeling her magic rise up right underneath her skin in response to the threat.

It seemed as if he didn't even hear her demand, he merely stared at her lips, or more specifically, the drop of blood that clung to her lower lip. The scent was so divine, so intoxicating that he didn't even realise what he was doing, his iron-strong control was melting away with every second that passed.

Kagome gripped his arms tightly, feeling her spiritual powers sparking off her fingertips, ready to shock him into the next world. The sparks were invisible, ready to blow him far away from her. She was just about to release her magic on him when he quickly leaned down, her mismatched eyes widened marginally at his next action.

His black eyes darkened even more as his tongue flicked out, licking the drop of blood off her lips, his rigid grip tightened to the point of pain.

And all Kagome could do was stiffen, completely take off guard by the action.

It seemed that she couldn't react at all...

* * *

A/N: I hoped you liked it, and remember, the more reviews = quicker update

Oh, and for future references, does anyone know Jane's and Alec's age when they were turned? I looked for it but couldn't find it. If anyone doesn't know, then I'll just take a whack at it, and say they are thirteen.

Review and thanks


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: There will be no Bella bashing, I happen to like her character, though I didn't like how she was portrayed as a complete chit who fell for Edward just because he was 'pretty' and 'mysterious'

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

Dark, navy blue eyes blinked in shock and surprise, unable to believe the sight before him. "S-Souta-kun… is that you…?" Hojo stuttered, standing behind the counter of his parents' pharmacy. It was a late and slow night, his shift to run the shop. He certainly didn't expect for Higurashi's little, missing brother to show up on his shift.

Souta was slumped, his long, dark bangs hid his eyes from view, but Hojo could tell there was something very wrong with the boy. He was shivering violently, and covered in… blood. Something very bad had to have happen to him. "I-I'm going to call the police, alright?" He immediately acted; disturbed by the dried blood that covered Souta's shirt.

"No!" Souta quickly shouted, his voice sounded hoarse and desperate, allowing his eyes to be seen. Hojo gasped, taken back by the obvious change in colour, Souta's eyes were that exotic blue-grey colour that Kagome also possessed, but now they were a deep crimson-red, very dark in hue. The boy looked frightened, very frightened.

"Please – don't." Souta whispered, he couldn't allow Hojo to call the police. Eventually, they would figure out the horrible deed he had done. He couldn't go to jail; he had to find his sister first.

Hojo hesitantly put down the phone, willing to listen to Souta first. He looked traumatised; perhaps he was kidnapped by the murderer who killed the Higurashi family?

"Do you know where Nee-chan went?" Souta asked quickly, he had to get to the United States as quick as possible, though he had no idea how he would do it. He was well aware for the current alert for his whereabouts, but he simply couldn't allow the police to get a hold of him.

Hojo sighed, he knew Higurashi went to the USA a few days after her mother's and grandfather's murder, she had specifically gathered him, Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka to say goodbye to, they were her closest friends. However, she had never specified what state she had gone to, he had no idea. "I know that she went to the United States, but I don't know what state she went to." Hojo stated, feeling sorry for the poor boy.

"Damn it!" Souta suddenly cursed out loud, his perfect face raged. He slammed his hand down against the counter, and to Hojo's surprise, a large crack appeared. He gulped a second later, watching Souta's sudden, strange red eyes turned to a deep black.

"S-Souta?" Hojo took a step back, noticing how different Souta actually looked. His skin was deathly pale; his eyes had changed colour, purple bruise-like markings spotted underneath each eye. He was… beautiful.

"Where is she? Where is Nee-chan?!" Souta screamed in rage, hunger taking him over. There was a small voice in his head, the small piece of his humanity left, it screamed at him, shouting at him to get away from this place. He knew what happened last time when this feeling had taken him over, he had killed Eri, and her parents when they had come home only ten minutes later. He was disgusted and horrified by his actions, the exact reason why he needed to find his sister, she would help him.

"S-Souta-kun, I don't know!" Hojo backed up against the wall in fear, gasping in horror as the boy merely jumped over the counter with ease, advancing upon him with that hungry look.

"You know! You do know!" Souta snarled, a strange, sweet-smelling liquid dripped from his lips, though Hojo could immediately tell it wasn't saliva.

And then it happened before he even knew what was going on. Souta was in front of him so quickly, so fast that he couldn't even react. The deathly pale boy savagely bit his arm; his razor-sharp teeth dug into his flesh, blood spattered everywhere.

He screamed.

It was horrifying; the pain was all-consuming. The strange liquid quickly sunk into the wound, sinking into his bloodstream. Souta ripped his mouth away from the wound, licking his lips feverishly, lapping away all traces of the sweet blood from his mouth.

The small boy quickly glanced up, dropping Hojo's arm when a noise suddenly sounded from behind the door. He snarled quietly, the voice of reason telling him to leave the scene immediately. His control wasn't all gone; he still had some control over his senses as he had just eaten only earlier that night. He wanted to stay, and lick all that sweet blood away, but he couldn't, he couldn't risk being caught. Not yet.

He was out of the pharmacy before the back door could open, leaving Hojo lying on the floor, convulsing in pain as the venom sunk into his bloodstream.

His parents came rushing out a second later, frantically asking what happened, and who had done this. He was at the hospital a few minutes later, even that much he could tell as the blinding pain consumed his very being. The doctors could find nothing wrong with him, other than the strange substance found in his bloodstream.

That consuming, blinding pain suddenly stopped around three days later…

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

A sudden prick in his leg was what that cleared his clouded mind, Edward finally realised what he was doing. He leapt away from the girl, horrified at what he had just done. His tongue hungrily cleared any left-over blood from his own perfect lips; he just stared at the shocked look that Kagome was sending him. Her mismatched eyes just stared at him, widened to their fullest extent. She was obviously in shock.

It was that little girl, she was standing in front of Kagome, her light blond hair was bristled, almost like a cat. Her red eyes pierced into his black ones, just daring to move a muscle. She was growling very lightly, if he weren't human, he would not have heard it.

"…Kirara…?" Kagome blinked, finally realising what had just happened. Edward had just… licked her lips to get to the blood from the cut. Kirara must have followed her to school again, and somehow stopped him. The cat-in-disguise simply growled lowly, her bright ruby eyes glaring into Edward, her protective instincts over her master had awakened at the sight she had just witnessed.

Edward closed his eyes slowly; he couldn't believe what had just taken place. He could have potentially revealed his secret to the new student if he had one second longer, he would have bitten her if not for that little, blond girl. He slowly opened his eyes again to reveal liquid-topaz. It had just hit him – he could not read the little girl's mind either.

"Kirara, what are you doing here?" Kagome sighed in Japanese, petting the little girl's blond hair to help calm her down. It worked, only a few seconds later, the nekomata's fur-like hair flattened to her head, though she still glared fiercely at the non-human being.

Kirara could not respond, as she could not speak vocally. Kagome could feel the sweat drip down her pale face, knowing that Kirara's human form could possibly fail, revealing her two-tails and her cat ears to Edward. She certainly didn't want that…

"Kirara, you need to go home." Kagome hissed quietly in Japanese, pushing the little girl in the back lightly and gently in an attempt to get her to move. The cat glanced up at her, her large, red eyes looked hesitant, before she nodded slightly, slowly making her way over to Kagome's blue car, her ruby eyes never left Edward at any time.

Kagome sighed again, running her hand through her long, dark hair in an act of frustration. She did not want to be in this situation, she didn't want to be anywhere near Edward Cullen.

He was staring at her, his golden eyes pierced into her. He simply seemed stumbled on what to say next, his mouth opened and shut repeatedly, though nothing came out. Kagome took a slight pity on him.

"Alright, I'll pretend that just didn't happen," She rolled her eyes at Edward's look. "And I'll forgive you if you tell me who the first American president was." She smirked lazily, knowing that History class had to be finished by now. Great, now her teacher probably thought that she skipped class…

"George Washington." Edward answered quickly, though he still couldn't believe that he had just lost his control. The girl didn't even really seemed fazed by his actions, though that only made his suspicions of her only strengthen.

Did this new student already know about vampires?

It made sense to him, her strange non-reaction and that little blond, red-eyed child, it just added up to him.

"Oh, that's right!" Kagome slapped her hand against her other one, seemingly forgetting about the incident that had just occurred. "How could I forget about that?" She turned around, simply walking back into the school, leaving him standing on the steps. She had P.E to go to…

Edward ran his cold, pale hand through his messy, bronze hair in frustration. He didn't know what to do, her scent just made him want to lose control, he wanted to bite her so badly. He really was a soulless, unfeeling monster…

He glanced over to Kagome's blue car, seeing that the strange, little girl sitting on the roof of it, her ruby-red eyes were still glaring at him, watching his every move. Edward looked around, seeing no one was around. He smirked a bit, moving so quickly that human eyes wouldn't be able to see or follow him. The child's eyes followed him precisely, her light hair bristled again as he casually leaned against Kagome's blue car. She tensed, and the strong scent of feline hit him straight on.

"What are you?" He asked lowly, he didn't react to her quiet growling or glaring. He raised a perfect brow when she gave no sign of answering him. Either she wasn't going to, or she didn't understand him. The latter did make more sense, as Kagome had spoken to the child in Japanese to her every time he had seen them together.

The blond child actually hissed at him, revealing sharp fangs within her mouth. Edward tensed, looking at her more intently. Vampires did not have fangs, their teeth were shaped like a normal humans, albeit a thousand times sharper. The girl's teeth resembled a feline's…

'_What the hell is she?' _Edward thought, he tried probing the little girl's mind, though he could find nothing. It was much like Bella and Kagome; it was like she wasn't even thinking at all.

Edward broke out of his thoughts as he quickly dodged a clawed hand, the little girl swiped at him with actual claws. He glared at her, though seeing no point in getting into some kind of fight. There were too many humans around, and he knew virtually nothing about the kid, she could be something else altogether.

With that, Edward quickly disappeared from the parking lot, intending on skipping the rest of his classes. He could easily catch up upon them.

However, even with his advanced senses, he did not notice the emerald-green eyes watching him intently.

* * *

Kagome sighed, glancing out a window with annoyance. P.E had gone on without a hitch; it was a simple game of dodge ball, something that was rather easy. People still seemed enthralled with her very presence, staring and pointing at her. Most of them sneered with disgust at her; they still probably thought that Kirara was her kid or something. Not that she cared, it was better if she was the outcast with no friends, that way she didn't had to socialise with anyone.

'_I forgot lunch,' _The miko thought vaguely, though she didn't care. She wasn't particularly hungry, and there was no way she was going to eat any cafeteria food. _'I should've just stayed outside for lunch.' _Her eyes observed the lunchroom, overly glad that Alice did not share the same lunch period as she did.

If it were any other circumstance, she might have actually liked the overly-hyper Cullen. _'I can't make any friends here,' _Her eyes closed after the thought, though she was well-aware of the many eyes on her person, though a few in particular caught her attention.

The remaining Cullens' were still staring at her; the beautiful blond woman, the dark curly-haired male, and Jasper were still glancing towards her. She did not forget what Alice had said that morning, that she wanted both Jasper and Edward to help her with her math, something that she had no intention in letting to happen, although she had to vaguely wonder why Edward was not present. She recalled that Alice had said that Edward shared the same lunch period that she did.

Another set of eyes that caught her attention was that of Bella, her brown eyes stared at her from across the room; she was sitting with the group that she sat with the previous day, the Jessica girl and Mike.

Kagome had to sneer, none of them even tried to approach her, not after seeing Kirara. They must have thought that Kirara was her child, and just wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

It really was pathetic.

* * *

"So, did you have fun with your new boyfriend yesterday?" Jessica giggled at Bella, who looked slightly annoyed with the attention. The whole group looked towards her for her answer; Mike looked rather irritated at the mention of Jacob.

"Jacob is not my boyfriend, we're just friends." Bella denied, slowly eating her food in front of her. Her answer did not seem very persuasive to Jessica, who merely snorted.

"Come on, Bella! You can tell me! You spend, like; all your time with Jacob Black after Edward broke up with you! If that's not a boyfriend, then I don't know what is." Jessica carelessly said, not noticing when Bella tensed as she mentioned Edward.

"Cullen seems to like the new student, Kagome, anyway." Mike sullenly pulled himself in the conversation, glaring at the table as he mentioned Edward. It really wasn't fair that Cullen managed to move himself so quickly to the new girl, he could get anyone he wanted, even models if he really wanted to.

Bella blinked, suddenly turning to Mike to see if what he said was true. Edward and the rest of the Cullens kept to themselves, so why would they even be interested in this new student anyway? She really hated to admit it, but it did hurt.

It had all just happened so suddenly, she and Edward had been dating for about four months when he had just started to act so coldly towards her. After a few weeks, he had finally broken up with her, stating it was just too dangerous for them to be together. She had denied it altogether; they could be together if he had just turned her. That seemed to finalise the end of their relationship, she and Edward had spoken very few words with each other since then, he went out of his way to avoid her.

Bella, then, filled the hole of Edward's absence with Jacob Black, they had grown very close, but she never thought of it like how Jessica had pointed it out. She did not consider them as boyfriend and girlfriend. She had no idea how Jacob felt about it.

"You shouldn't talk to her," Jessica suddenly said, noticing Bella's stare towards Kagome. "She has a kid, you know." The girl gossiped casually, much to Bella's irritation. "And her kid's like five or something! Is that even possible?"

Bella sighed, annoyed with Jessica's idle gossip. The new girl simply looked depressed from what she could see, even a bit lonely as she sat there by herself. She bit her lip, slowly getting up, much to Jessica's and Mike's surprise. Her legs seemed to carry themselves over to Kagome's empty table, though the girl didn't even seem to notice her.

'_Who would?' _Bella thought bitterly, her features were plain, brown eyes and brown hair. She noticed how pretty the new girl was, her long, shiny, black hair and her mismatched blue and green eyes. The eyes combination was unusual and exotic. And with her pale skin, she looked as if she could be a Cullen if she didn't know better.

The girl suddenly tensed, quickly getting up from her own table, and quickly leaving the room. Bella stopped her trek towards the table, slightly confused. She blinked her brown eyes as Jasper quickly glided past her with a perfect stride; his golden eyes were locked on Kagome, who had now left the cafeteria.

Bella quickly turned, slightly embarrassed, as she sat back down, everyone seemed to be staring at her. Jessica merely raised a brow at Bella's strange action; it looked as if Bella were actually going to approach the new kid. "See, she's a bitch." She said casually, not noticing the slight glare from Bella. "She just left when she noticed you were coming over to her table."

Bella chose not to respond, slightly offended at Jessica's statement. No, it looked as if the new girl left because Jasper was approaching her table, not her. Jasper seemed to stop when Kagome left the room, seemingly contemplating on something, before turning back towards the Cullens' designated table.

Rosalie merely sniffed, upturning her nose with arrogance while Emmett merely snickered at Jasper.

Bella sighed, wondering what the Cullens' were doing, and why they were so interested in Kagome Kuchiki.

* * *

Kagome breathed in the muggy, humid air as she stepped outside once again, going out of her way to avoid Jasper. She didn't want him to help her with math; she wanted nothing to do with the Cullens.

Her eyes carefully looked around, sighing in relief as she did not notice Edward, he wasn't around anymore. _'He must have decided to skip, then.' _She thought vaguely, walking towards her blue car. She half-smiled as she noticed that Kirara was sleeping in the back seat of it, curled up in a cat-like position.

Her small amusement was small-lived as she immediately noticed something – and it was very _familiar_. Kagome gasped, turning around with desperation, her long hair swinging and obscuring her vision for a second.

It was all the time in the world for the figure to flash in front of her, he was grinning widely.

"Shippou-chan!" Kagome cried out, though she couldn't move due to her shock at seeing the fox demon. Her eyes widened as she looked towards him, he was very different from when she last saw him back in Feudal Japan.

He had the appearance of a thirteen-year-old boy; his bright red hair was shaggy and fell around his face. His forest emerald-green eyes were slick and cheerful. He was about as tall as she was, around five feet. He was wearing casual teenage clothes, and his youkai features were hidden. She couldn't believe how little he had aged within five hundred years, he had the appearance of a six-year-old back then.

"Yo, Kagome!" He grinned widely, hands stuffed into his pockets. He smiled foxily as Kagome finally was released from her shock, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back just as tightly. She released him a second later, shock still written on her beautiful face.

"What – I thought… I mean, what are you doing here?" She asked, gulping down her shock. "Both Sesshoumaru and Kouga-kun had said they hadn't seen you in about three hundred years, where have you been?" She said, she hadn't seen Shippou in the modern era either.

Shippou rolled his brilliant green eyes. "Yeah, well, I pissed off the old dog sometime ago, been hiding ever since. You know how long he can hold a grudge." He snickered, thinking back to what he did to anger Sesshoumaru so much.

Kagome didn't even bother to ask what he had done, just glad to see the fox. "How did you find me?" She asked, concerned as Shippou's face suddenly grew very serious.

"Kouga told me," He waved off quickly. "I came to warn you," Shippou suddenly growled, looking around warily to see if that bronze-haired male was around. There was something strange about him… "Anyway, I have been sneaking around, listening in on things," The kitsune growled, his spell suddenly seemed to release for an instant as Kagome could see a flash of red fur, five tails swung behind the fox before disappearing just as quickly.

'_Warn me?' _Kagome thought, dreading whatever Shippou would say next. Did he come to say that Souta really was… dead? Her eyes watered at the thought, her hope that her little brother was still alive was very large. However, what Shippou said next completely and utterly shocked her.

"Sakuya, Sesshoumaru's bitch of a mother, is planning to kill you."

* * *

A/N: I really wanna see if I can crack 100 reviews again, so please help my goal. If you haven't reviewed yet, I would really appreciate if you did. And don't worry, I'm not holding this story ransom, demanding those reviews while saying I won't update until I get them. I'll update irregardless if I get 100 reviews or not by next week.

So, review please and make my crummy week end on a good note (I won't bore you with all the details -_-)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Didn't reach my goal, but whatever, here is the update! Though a few more reviews than last time would really be nice, my inspiration for this is going downhill from here…

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

"Sakuya, Sesshoumaru's bitch of a mother, is planning to kill you."

Kagome could only blink wildly, not really comprehending the situation. Did she really just hear that correctly? Sesshoumaru's, mother, the person who had helped her escape without Sesshoumaru's notice, was planning to kill _her_? It just didn't make any kind of sense to her. Why would the female inu youkai go through so much trouble in helping her to escape if she was only planning to kill her?

"Why would she do that?" Kagome asked after a few moments of silence, Shippou's emerald-green eyes pierced into her, even though his outer appearance hadn't aged that much, Kagome knew he was much older in his soul; he had to grow up too quickly, much like herself.

Shippou sighed, looking around. "Come on; let's get away from this place." He muttered, grabbing her arm to pull her away from the high school. Kagome raised a brow, wondering why they needed to move away from the school. It's not like anyone could actually understand what they were saying, as they were speaking in their native Japanese.

They walked for a long time under the tense silence, Kagome sighed as Shippou sprinted ahead, making a beeline for the forest just up ahead. She smiled a bit, his love for nature was as just as large as her own, she preferred to be out in the woods than in the city with all the civilised people. She quickly sprinted after him, both disappearing into the woods.

"So, why does she want to kill me?" Kagome asked as she caught up to the fox, who had slowed down. The kistune frowned, the look darkened on his boyish face.

"Why else?" He growled, easily leaping over fallen trees, Kagome taking pursuit. "She wants everything that you would gain from Sesshoumaru. You're his heiress, after all." Shippou answered, Kagome didn't really understand.

"But why? Sakuya would also gain something if Sesshoumaru ever chose to let go of his… fortunes." Kagome said thoughtfully, Sakuya was a part of Sesshoumaru's pack, even more so then she was.

"Yeah well, she's a greedy bitch. I'm sure that you know that the Western pack has pretty much dwindled down to Sesshoumaru, Sakuya, and now you, you were adopted into it. With you gone, she would gain everything of Sesshoumaru's." Shippou growled lowly, leaning up against a tree, crossing his arms. Kagome copied the same motion, now looking weary.

The miko sighed, now wondering what she would do. Sakuya knew exactly where she was hiding; she could attack at any potential time. Though, she was sure that she would be able to sense any youkai before they tried to attack her, she would just have to be alert at all times.

"I can't stay long," Shippou suddenly said, breaking into the silence. Kagome quickly looked up, a sad look within her two different-coloured eyes.

"Oh," She looked down with disappointment; she was hoping that he could stay with her. She missed him greatly.

Shippou also looked down, he would've liked to stay more than anything, but he couldn't. If he did, it would be easier for Sesshoumaru to locate the miko, and from what he knew, Kagome wanted to avoid that at all costs. He certainly didn't want to lead the dog right to her.

The fox suddenly grinned, patting her on the back. "Don't worry about me; I can take of myself now." He said proudly, Kagome slowly allowed a smile to appear on her pretty face.

"That's right; you have five tails now, don't you?" She asked, recalling the flash of red fur when his spell was disrupted by his anger. Kagome knew that foxes could gain a maximum of nine tails; he still had four tails to go.

"Yep," Shippou nodded, his fangs peaking over his lip with his wide grin. "I'm so close to my sixth tail." He said, smirking strangely, it put Kagome on guard.

"Really?" She asked warily, wondering what he was going to say to her next. She knew what that particular smile meant…

"I just have to sleep with one more human and take some of their energy." Shippou said casually, Kagome merely nodded unconsciously before it really hit her.

"WHAT?!" She roared a second a later, turning around to look at Shippou with a 'WTF' expression. "S-sleep with another human…?" She left off weakly, now really concerned with Shippou's appearance, he only looked like a thirteen-year-old human, after all.

"Yeah," Shippou snickered at her expression. It went silent for a moment, before he could no longer stand her glare. "But don't worry!" He sweated at her scary face, gulping down his fear. "I usually appear older to the human I'm taking energy from, they think I'm like twenty! And then I erase the memory from their mind!" He said quickly, hoping that her hands would retract from their new position around his throat.

Kagome snorted, letting go of the fox. She certainly didn't want to hear of Shippou's sexual encounters, especially since he appeared so young to her. She shivered at her thoughts, wondering what kind of women would want to sleep with a young teenager.

"Of course, some like 'em young too." Shippou muttered a second later, running far ahead before it hit Kagome. The kitsune 'eeped' a second later when he could hear her scream after him, chasing him through the forest.

Kagome leapt over the fallen branches, doing it easily. The fox certainly wouldn't like it she caught him to him. "Disgusting." She muttered under her breath, wondering how Shippou could even think of sleeping with someone when appearing as young as he did.

The one thing that Kagome did not pay attention to was that her scent was cloaking the trees surrounding them in the forest…

* * *

Three beings easily glided through the forest, not so satisfied with their latest kill. Their eyes appeared as a burgundy red, though they darkened with every minute. The last human didn't taste all that good, and as such, they still hungered for more blood.

"The humans are still tracking us." The feline-like, red-haired female snorted in disgust, wondering how stupid the human police could get. It wasn't like they could ever catch them, not with their pathetically weak senses.

The female, Victoria, glanced up when she received no answer; the leader of their small pack was leaning up against a tree, sniffing it very intently.

"James?" The olive-skinned, dark-haired being, Laurent, asked warily, watching as James' red eyes seemed to turn a dark black within a second. He took a whiff of the air himself, now smelling whatever caught James' attention. He couldn't get enough of it, it was so intoxicating, and it was a human.

James pressed his nose even closer to the bark of the tree, inhaling the incredible scent as much as he possibly could. He had never smelled anything so good in his life, not even that dark-haired, pixie-like girl he had lost track of a long while back.

Victoria took in a deep breath, crinkling her nose at the musky smell. "All I can smell is a fox," She complained in her girly, high-pitched voice. She certainly didn't know what had caught her mate's attention so badly.

James didn't reply, he merely glanced up, tracking the pretty scent with ease. He could also smell a fox entwined tightly with the scent, though he largely ignored it.

Whoever had left that scent, he wanted a bite out of them…

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

Hojo groaned out loud, the light of the hospital was hurting his sensitive eyes. He ran his hand through his sweat-soaked hair, feeling a great relief when that horrible pain had finally stopped. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but it had been much too long.

He leaned back against the bed, surprisingly feeling no fatigue or any tiredness after that painful ordeal. He breathed in, snapping his eyes open when a beckoning scent hit his nose. He quickly sat up with an inhuman grace, seeing that no one was around.

He took another whiff of the air, holding his breath immediately as the wonderful scent hit him again. He could instantly tell what it was, and the thought disgusted him.

It was blood – there was no doubt about it. He could tell what that coppery scent was immediately. It was a stale scent, and he knew it was because he was in the hospital.

"Damn! What happened?" Hojo cursed angrily, trying to remember what happened a few nights ago. He remembered seeing Higurashi's little brother, Souta-kun. The boy had looked positively terrified, and then he had looked angry when he had told him that he didn't know where Higurashi was staying in the United States. Then, the boy had bit him…

Hojo lifted his arm where Souta had bitten him, frowning angrily when there seemed to be a scar on his arm, it stood out vividly against his deathly pale skin. Hojo frowned quickly, just looking at his skin. Why was he so pale? He was normally tanned; perhaps it was because he had been in the hospital for a few days?

Hojo stood up from his bed, taking slow steps towards the mirror up upon the wall. His reflection completely shocked him; he certainly wasn't expecting that at all.

He was deathly pale; his dark, navy-blue eyes had turned into a dark reddish-black, reminding him of Souta on that night, and how his eyes were that wild colour. His normally, carefully combed hair was in disarray, it had darkened in colour. Purple bruises were underneath his eyes, giving him a look of fatigue.

He always knew that he was handsome, but this was just… ridiculous. His looks seemed to have enhanced by one hundred percent during his stay in the hospital, it didn't make any kind of sense. He grabbed his stomach, feeling a sudden pain.

He was starving…

Hojo sniffed the air, licking his lips at the stale scent of blood. It smelled so very good to him, ignoring the feeling that he should be disgusted by such a thought. He glanced in the mirror again, smirking suddenly.

The look darkened against his ethereal face, and he turned around. His eyes grew darker within every second, and he sat back in the bed.

The smirk widened as a thought occurred to him. The feeling had always been there, but it had never been so strong before.

He wanted, no, he needed to posses Higurashi Kagome for his own…

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

Shippou's green eyes sparkled wildly, his fangs stuck out of his mouth as he grinned widely, glancing back towards the human miko. He suddenly wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulder, hugging her close to his side.

She glanced at him wearily, wondering what he was doing. She wasn't sure on how close she wanted to be to him right now, not after finding out how he had slept with numerous women, sometimes even in his young teenage form. It certainly was disturbing to find out how many pedophiliac women were out there.

"So, Kagome," Shippou lowered his voice drastically, it came out deeper and more seductively, it sounded a lot different than his normally boyish voice. "Want to be the human who helps me gain my sixth tail?" He asked, almost casually, much to Kagome's upmost horror.

"If you don't take your hand off me right now, I'll rip out your tails one by one." Kagome smiled serenely, her tone was sickly sweet. Shippou 'eeped,' quickly taking his arm off the miko's shoulders, jumping a ways from her and her frightening threat.

Kagome sighed loudly, looking at Shippou while shaking her head sadly. He certainly was different from the prank-loving, little fox she knew. Then again, it's been more than five hundred years for him while it was only a few months for her. "I thought that foxes gained tails every one hundred years." She asked, looking up at the sky.

It looked as if it were rain again.

Shippou nodded. "Yeah, foxes can gain tails in three different ways. The first, more normal way is to wait every hundred years to gain one tail. But that takes way too long," Shippou complained, he certainly didn't want to wait nine hundred years for his nine tails. "The second way is too gain them from Inari-sama – but you have to do something really special to get them that way," Shippou complained again, he wasn't too fond of Inari. The Kami was very strange, either taking the form of a beautiful, young woman, or an old man. "And the third way is to take the energy of one thousand humans for each tail – either killing them or leaving them alive."

"And you just decided to take the easy way, huh?" Kagome said sarcastically, sighing at the young fox.

"Yep," Shippou grinned, also taking a look up to the sky. Their little trip had taken a while; it was already getting to be night time. The fox sighed again, feeling a bit down. He smiled at Kagome, who blinked at the action. "Well – it's about time for me to leave. I have a room rented at a hotel in Port Angeles."

Kagome closed her mouth, forgetting her suggestion of Shippou staying with her. Her little house was only for one person anyway, though Shippou could have slept on the couch or even in the same bed as her if he really wanted to.

'_Then again,' _Kagome rolled her eyes, shivering a bit. _'He might molest me in my sleep or something,' _She almost snickered at the very thought, she practically raised Shippou, the thought of sleeping with him in _that _way was very disturbing.

"You need help getting back?" Shippou asked, nodding with understanding as Kagome as she looked up towards the sky, a somewhat sad smile to her face. She must be remembering Inuyasha…

"No, it's fine. I think I'll just stay out here for a while." She said, giving a wide smile towards Shippou, who grinned back.

"Be careful," He warned suddenly. "There are some very strange… people around here." He said, thinking back to that bronze-haired boy who he had seen earlier.

"Yeah, I know." She answered, turning her back towards the fox. She didn't react as Shippou's energy quickly vanished, he disappearing from sight. She was very glad to have seen him again, and if she wanted to see him again soon, he wouldn't be that far away either, at least for the time being.

She sighed, needing to get away from her thoughts of Inuyasha. It was a dark and rainy night; she had been away and unable to protect him.

It was her fault that he died…

* * *

Kagome rolled around in her bed, knowing that she would not be able to get to sleep that night. Kirara glanced up, mewing with worry. The miko merely patted the cat's head, not wanting her to worry. "Don't worry about me, Kirara. I just can't sleep is all." She said gently, the nekomata merely nodded, blinking her large red eyes.

"I need to get some fresh air." Kagome said out loud, getting out of her bed to get dressed. She glanced back towards the clock, sighing as she realised it was about four in the morning, there was still quite a few hours before school started.

She snorted at the thought of school while she threw on a casual black jacket. Why she was even attending, she didn't have a clue. It was so troublesome, but it pretty much was the law. She certainly didn't want to be caught – not by the police.

'_I have to stay very low,' _She thought, knowing how close she had been arrested back in Japan for the murder of her own family. It was only Sesshoumaru's protection and influence that scared the police off. Getting in trouble in the United States would only encourage the Japanese police to find her and question her again.

"Kirara, I'm going out for a little while, I'll be back in a while." She stated, smiling as Kirara seemed to immediately get up from her spot on the bed, stretching her limbs. "If you don't mind, I would really like to go out alone."

Kirara blinked, obviously surprised. "Don't worry, I can protect myself." Kagome smiled, knowing Kirara was thinking of the Cullens. What were the odds of her actually running into them? And at this hour? Besides, she was going for a little walk in the woods, she really did doubt that they would be running around in the forest.

Kirara mewed again, protesting her action. "I'll be back in one hour, and if I'm not, you can come find me." Kagome said, Kirara finally relented and nodded, curling back up but not going back to sleep, her ruby eyes were on Kagome at all times.

Kagome sighed, quickly leaving the small house that she had purchased. It wasn't raining anymore, though it was very dark outside. Kagome smirked; her vision had been enhanced due to all the time she had spent in the Feudal Japan, it was a requirement for her very survival.

The miko easily stepped over the fallen logs and branches littered the forest grounds, breathing in deeply, allowing the fresh morning air to fill her lungs. A small, serene smile appeared on her pale face, these were the time she loved most.

"Let's see if I still have it." Kagome smirked as she looked up towards a large tree; the branches were far from the ground. She took a few steps back, leaning forward for a running start, easily leaping up the tree to the first branch.

She smiled in success, sitting on the branch. Her smile disappeared as quickly as it came, her thoughts zooming back towards Inuyasha. Tears seemed to form within her eyes, though they didn't fall. Kagome shoved her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs, leaning back against the tree.

She had no idea how long she stayed there like that, but she knew the hour must have almost up. Kirara would show up soon, looking for her. The miko wiped the unshed tears from her eyes, making the bags appear larger.

Kagome tensed as a noise sounded out from under her, she glanced down lazily, thinking that it was Kirara. Her eyes widened a second later, seeing something that she would never expect.

There were two beings down below her; both were looking up towards her with obvious shock. She blinked, tensing even more when she felt the similar energy around them, it was the exact same as the Cullens.

The male, from what she could see, was blond, ethereal in every sense. He was standing beside a woman, a very beautiful woman. She was also ethereal, though they were both glancing up towards her with obvious shock.

However, the next moment is what surprised her even more – almost to the point where she almost fell off the branch of the high tree. The person appeared right behind the blond male and the beautiful female, also looking up towards her with shock, dislike, and… hunger.

"Edward?!"

* * *

So, what'd you think? Oh, and I was thinking, should Souta and Hojo have any specific ability? And if so, a few ideas or suggestions would be really appreciated. And if none come in, I'll eventually think of one (hopefully)

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Thank you so much for your suggestions about Hojo's and Souta's abilities, they were better than what I could probably come up with! I haven't decided on what specific one yet, but I will give all the credit to the one(s) who suggested it!

* * *

"Edward?!" Kagome practically yelped in shock, almost falling off the thick branch in her surprise at seeing her classmate so early in the morning. It was like five O'clock in the morning, what the hell was he doing out here?! And so near her secluded home?! It was slightly unnerving, she had to admit, merely because she knew that he wasn't human – he could've attacked her at any given time...

'_And the other two,' _Kagome narrowed her eyes at the man and the woman who were with Edward – she saw that they had a very similar, if not the same aura as Edward did. That simply meant that they were of the same species, though what species remained a complete mystery to Kagome.

'_Damn it! What the hell do I do?!' _Kagome felt the sweat drip down her pale face; she didn't want to come up with a reason on the spot as to why she was here, in the middle of the night, sitting on a tree branch, practically crying. Any reason would probably sound stupid; she wasn't the greatest liar in the world.

"Heh, this certainly isn't unexpected," A cheerful, boyish voice broke the tense silence between the miko and the three vampires, a hand rested on Kagome's shoulder. The miko jumped slightly from the unexpected contact, she was too focused on the three down below that she didn't sense the other presence right behind her. "I knew that might have happened."

Kagome turned around, her eyes widening at the familiar sight of auburn-red hair. "Shippou-chan?!" She asked incredulously, wondering why the fox would be here now. Didn't he go back to his hotel room back at Port Angeles?

"In the flesh," Shippou grinned his vulpine-like grin, his green eyes sparkling like emeralds as he stared down at the Cullens. "Huh, annoying... things." He growled, getting a very similar-like reaction from the three non-human beings below, their eyes were jet-black. "Do you know these... people?" The kitsune asked casually, much to Kagome's annoyance.

The miko shook her head, wondering what the fox had planned. _'He better not do anything stupid, I don't want any more enemies than I already have.' _Kagome thought with bitterness, knowing she had a formidable enemy in Sakuya – Sesshoumaru's mother. Who knows what the crazy female dog might come up with to kill her? Kagome knew that the inu-youkai had a rather sadistic streak of humour; she could be crueler than Sesshoumaru at times.

"Stupid... things." Shippou uttered again as he stared at the now tensed vampires, his emerald eyes flashing a red. Kagome blinked when six tails suddenly ripped from his pants, waving wildly with his anger. Two pointed red ears settled on Shippou's unruly hair, flickering with annoyance. "You don't need to remember anything." The fox grinned darkly; his eyes flashed a complete red.

Kagome blinked as the clearing went hazy, but could quickly tell when an illusion was being placed on the surroundings. She stared at him, wondering if this could actually work. These were non-human beings, but not youkai either. It may not have the effect of what Shippou really intended, but it was better than nothing.

"Let's go." Shippou said cheerfully, a complete turn from his recent mood. He grabbed her arm, leaping off the branch, easily finding the way to her house with his enhanced sense of smell.

"Do you think that will actually work?" Kagome asked skeptically, turning her head back to see if she could Edward and the other two ethereal beings, but they were no longer standing there anymore. She sincerely hoped it did, it would get a lot off her back.

"I dunno." Shippou shrugged without a care, much to her annoyance. He grinned widely, a fang peaked over his lip, "But it was my strongest illusion – they should forget everything that they saw here." He explained, his six tails wagging wildly, obviously hoping to get her approval – a habit that had formed in the good old days.

Kagome smiled softly towards the kit, happy that he wanted to help her so much. "Thank you, Shippou-chan." She said gratefully, the fox merely grinned in return. A tug on her pant-leg made her look down, blinking at the sight.

Kirara, in her small kitten-like form, had her pant-leg in her mouth, tugging on it insistently. Kagome sighed, giving an apologetic look down to the nekomata. "I'm sorry, Kirara. I took longer than an hour, didn't I?" She stated, kneeling down so she could pick up the small cat-demon. Kirara simply mewed and Kagome smiled in relief. "Thanks for forgiving me."

"Woah," Shippou blinked, looking at the small cat with wide, childish eyes, "Kirara's here with you?" He asked with slight disbelief, "I've always wondered where you went." The fox giggled like he was a six-year-old again, quickly plucking Kirara out of Kagome's grasp. "Come on, let's go play like we used to!" The kitsune said excitedly, Kirara mewed in agreement.

Kagome sweat-dropped, "Right, and while you're doing that, I'm gonna try to get some more sleep," She said with a sigh, "You're welcome to stay with Kirara and I." She said, pointing towards the small house that she had purchased.

"Right!" Shippou said with a wag of his red, furry tails, then a serious look appeared to his boyishly handsome face, "But only for today, too many of Sesshoumaru's subordinates will immediately recognise me – if they're in the area anyways." He said, taking off into the woods after Kirara, obviously playing some animal play.

"Hm," Kagome hummed, looking towards her temporary home with an undecided look, sighing deeply. She ran her hand through her long, dark hair, decided something else. _'There's no way I'm gonna get some sleep... I'll do something else.' _Kagome thought, maybe she could get some sort of studying done?

The idea sounded not so... tempting to her at the moment. _'It's about five in the morning; maybe something in town might be open.' _She wondered, though doubted it somewhat. But she could always just observe the small town, see what was there.

'_I think I might need to go shopping soon.' _The miko sighed at the thought. Shopping used to be so much fun for her, but now it held no glamour for Kagome anymore – it just seemed so... childish to her now.

Kagome quickly showered, leaving a note for Shippou and Kirara on the couch so they would know where to find her. She stepped outside of her house, warm in the chilled air with her black jacket and boots. She smiled a bit when she looked to her car. _'Should I take the damn car, or should I just walk it?' _She thought, not liking the car idea one bit. Sure, it probably was weird for someone in the modern era to walk anywhere, but she preferred walking to the convenience of a vehicle.

She smirked, making up her mind. Besides, the town couldn't be that far away, Forks was a very small place after all. And she was correct; it was only about a twenty minute sprint away from her newly purchased house.

Though it was early in the morning, there definitely was no sun whatsoever in the town of Forks, the constant grey cover of the clouds covered the sky. Luckily for her, it wasn't raining.

'_Hmm,' _Kagome shoved her hands into her pockets of her jeans, looking at the stores curiously. Nothing really caught her eye, and none of it was the stores that she was most familiar to. She rolled her eyes at herself. _'This is America, not Japan anymore.'_

She was too much of a deep thought to actually notice that she had followers...

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

Higurashi Souta slumped against the wall of a dirty alley, his pale hands dug deep within his unruly, black hair, tangling the strands even more than they already were. He was shaking, his eyes clenched tightly. He wanted his sister with him – she could somehow help him, he just knew that she could.

'_So, where is she?' _The ten-year-old boy thought desperately, fisting his hair to the point of where it should've hurt – but it just simply didn't. He didn't what the hell was wrong with him, though he did come up with one thing.

Maybe... maybe he actually became some kind of youkai?!

The very thought was absurd, he knew that much. He had holy blood running through his veins, there was just no way he could ever become a demon.

But what other explanation was there?!

"Damn it!" Souta growled into his chest, vaguely noting that his heart was no longer beating. He whimpered, he had noticed that some time ago – further proof that he was definitely not a human anymore. He felt like crying, but found that he couldn't, no tears would come.

'_What's happening to me?!' _He thought with that crazy desperation, looking up slowly when he heard the loud foot-steps stop right in front of him. He frowned angrily at the person, vaguely noticing that this person had a somewhat similar appeared to that of his late hero.

The woman smiled seductively, his golden eyes shined with a cruel playfulness as she stared at the lost boy. Her nose twitched some, instantly knowing this boy was no longer a human. That was strange – she was sure that the damned little miko had a human family.

This was most definitely the boy featured heavily within the human media – Higurashi Souta if she remembered his name correctly. "Are you lost, little boy?" She purred softly towards the boy, making sure her tone had a fake concern-like quality to it to convince him.

Souta merely stared at the woman, her long silvery hair was mesmerising to him. It was the exact same shade of Inu-onii-san's. Her eyes were similar to Inuyasha's as well – maybe she was, somehow, related to his hero?

Souta closed his reddish-black eyes, not knowing how to answer. He would be taken to the police – probably – if he went with this woman. He couldn't, not after the deeds he had done to his sister's friend...

'_Nee-chan!' _He had to find his sister, no matter the cost. He slowly stood up from his pathetic position on the ground of the filthy alley-way; his long, blood-coated hair hid his hungry eyes from view.

Sakuya raised a fine brow at the boy's odd behaviour, though she wasn't concerned in the least for her safety. Even if this boy wasn't human – he wouldn't be a match for her, though she didn't know what species of youkai this child was.

"Am I interrupting something here?" An amused, dark voice suddenly sounded behind them. Sakuya slowly turned around, not surprised by a bit. She had sensed his presence long before he had even arrived at their spot.

"And you are?" She purred in her naturally seductive and alluring voice, her golden eyes narrowed heavily towards the male. He was also a pup, a few years older than the young boy in front of her – perhaps a late teenager, if that's what the humans called adolescents now.

Hojo narrowed his own red eyes at the strange-looking woman. He frowned angrily, already taking a great dislike to her, merely due to her irritating features. She greatly resembled Higurashi's boyfriend with that long silver hair and golden eyes. He always did hate Inuyasha – even if he had never stated that out loud before. Hell, he even had a hard time admitting to himself for a while, though the feelings were crystal clear now.

But, now, this woman was standing in his way of his one-way ticket to Higurashi, and he certainly wasn't going to allow her to take the boy away from him.

He put forth his usual polite tone to her, hoping it would persuade her to leave the kid alone. "Souta-kun, what are you doing out here?" He asked with a fake concern, bringing the boy's attention to himself.

The boy had the same red eyes as himself, and Hojo's theory seemed to be correct so far. The boy had bitten him – he could remember that much – and had somehow changed him. Into what, he didn't know yet.

Souta didn't know what to say to Hojo, their last meeting in the pharmacy was blurry and hazy to him. All he remembered was the sweet scent of all of that delicious blood...

Sakuya frowned; a dark look appeared within her golden eyes. This man-child was getting in her way; it seemed that he was familiar with the little miko's younger brother. It proved as a disadvantage to her in so many ways, but she could easily manipulate her way to fit her own needs.

She was a sneaky and manipulating female – how else would she be able to get the great and terrible 'Inu-no-Taisho' to mate with her?

'_Though,' _The female inu-youkai thought deviously, eyeing the teenage boy with her gold eyes, sizing him up. She could quickly tell that this male was of the same species as the miko's little brother, he could prove useful in some kind of way to her. For what, she didn't know yet. _'If he knows this little brat – then the chances that he also knows Sesshoumaru's little human pet is very high.' _She thought, referring to the miko.

The miko was truly dense – which is why it should be simple to kill her and take what rightfully belonged to her. The miko certainly wasn't bright enough to see that she was the closest thing that Sesshoumaru would ever consider as a 'mate.' Her cute little pup was pretty much asexual – from what she observed, her son hadn't had a hump in over three-hundred years. She turned to the brown-haired male, her plans changing within her mind.

These two boys would pave the way to the miko...

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

"Really, is that all you've got?" Kagome asked with a confident smirk as she stared at the person on the ground, not affected at all by his piercing glare. "Can't even take one little girl?" She taunted, easily dodging another wild swing by his friend at the same time, causing him to trip ungracefully.

The annoyance ended up as a heap on the ground, right beside his friend. Four others didn't rush her, much to her surprise, merely surrounded her.

Kagome raised a brow in an amusement only she could see in this situation. These human-male muggers were nothing – at least compared to the things she had faced in her past. They were painfully slow, her reflexes where much better than this.

"Stupid bitch!" One cried out, bringing out his concealed knife from his jacket, ready to teach this stupid girl a lesson she wouldn't forget. The girl merely sighed with annoyance, easily grabbing his arm to stop his movements.

"What?!" The gang gasped at the amazing strength that this tiny girl displayed, she wasn't as weak as they first thought her to be.

"Go away." Kagome said boredly, her eyes widening a moment later when teenaged male suddenly fell to the ground on his own terms, too quickly for her to follow. She blinked, as did the other surprised gang members.

There, standing with an apathetic look to his ethereal face, was none other than Jasper Hale, the little dark-haired girl, Alice Cullen, was standing off to the side, a serene look to her angelic, pale face.

Kagome blinked at the sudden appearance, looking towards Alice with a strange expression. The small female was carrying bags filled with clothes, more than someone her size should be able to carry.

'_What the hell?!' _Kagome thought incredulously, wondering why the two would be out here at this time in the morning – it was about six now. _'And they went shopping?!' _Her eye twitched some, wondering what crazy store would be open at this hour.

"Six against one isn't very fair." Jasper stated in his low tone, it sounded very threatening, especially to the six thugs who didn't have much experience in fights before. They all knew who he was – one of those annoying Cullens who still had the town's attention, even after being in Forks for over two years now. "Leave now." Jasper coldly dismissed, feeling the thugs' feelings of slight fear, anger, and annoyance.

He, for an instant, glanced towards Kagome, feeling that same chaotic feeling that he did before – it had not changed at all. It was rather depressing to him to feel such things, but he had no place in manipulating her emotions to his own needs. The girl was obviously still grieving over something, or someone...

The new girl intrigued him immensely, especially her eyes. Her eyes were similar to his own – she had seen the great horrors of war, and it showed. He only wondered why she could see such things.

"Hello, Kagome!" Alice chirped cheerfully, skipping over to the stunned girl with her graceful steps, her numerous bags not hindering in the least.

"Uh... hi..." Kagome could only blink at the bizarre turn of events, watching warily as the small girl stopped beside her to observe Jasper.

"Don't worry," Alice said with a comforting tone, her smile lit up her very attractive face. "Jasper will take care of them." She motioned to the muggers. "And then you can ride to school with us! You still need help in math, right?"

Kagome didn't bother to answer, merely watching as Jasper easily took out each of his opponent. He made it look so easy... though she could've taken care of it herself.

Kagome froze at the sudden female voice that sounded threateningly behind her, demanding answers.

"What the hell did you do to Edward?!"

* * *

Well, here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long to get out, but my outlook of the Twilight has been shot down to hell after attempting to read 'New Moon...'


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing

To my fellow Canadians, HAPPY CANADA DAY!! :) and to my American friends, HAPPY (early) INDEPENDENCE DAY/4th of July!!

Warnings: There may actually be light Bella/Edward bashing throughout the story (they're on my 'hate' list after trying to read 'New Moon') and there won't be any Hojo bashing (he won't actually be a bad guy...)

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

Higurashi Souta sighed, looking at his surroundings longingly, wishing for the old good days where nothing was wrong and everything was right – how it should be. His mother and grandfather _should _be alive, and his Nee-chan _should _be visiting from the Feudal era.

But... it just wasn't – anymore, it never would be.

An icy cold hand landed on his small shoulder, Souta looked up towards the teenage boy standing beside him. There actually was a slightly concerned look to Hojo's face – then again, Hojo was a friend of his Nee-chan's, why wouldn't there be?

"You okay, Souta-kun?" Hojo asked, taking an unconscious breath of air, even if he had just recently discovered that he actually didn't need oxygen anymore – a rather terrifying discovery, really. "Don't worry," The brown-haired boy stated in his usual confident voice, trying to put the smaller boy at ease. "We'll find your sister."

"Yeah..." Souta looked down at his worn sneakers, sighing loudly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to trust this 'Sakuya,' but she had promised him that she would find his Nee-chan for him, and she wouldn't even turn him into the police – who were looking for him desperately.

Kagome was in America, there was just no way would he ever be able to find her on his own. He felt a bit better with Hojo around anyway, so it wouldn't be so bad, he supposed. Sakuya was currently making a fake ID for him, he certainly couldn't get out of Japan without one. Besides, he really didn't look like his previous self... why, he wasn't exactly sure.

Kagome would have the answers for him – for what he was – she always had the answers.

"Well," Hojo's voice broke him out of his wistful thoughts, "You should get packing now." He stated, leading the boy up the Higure Shrine's many steps. Neither of them was even remotely tired when they reached the top, which was slightly surprising.

Souta sighed again, looking at the Higure Shrine – his home. He didn't want to be here for any longer than he had to be, it brought back bad memories of that night his family was attacked by that... _thing_. All he needed were some clothing, and then they would leave quickly.

Both Hojo and Souta could smell the scent of heavily stale blood, the older male seemed to have a hard trouble coping with it as his crimson-red eyes seemed to slowly descend into black darkness.

Souta, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any trouble with the scent. In fact, he looked slightly ill at the scent of his family's blood. He tried to ignore the scent, leaving Hojo struggling where he was.

Another scent caught his attention – this one was very odd to him. Familiar, but really... odd. He followed the scent, his crimson-black eyes widening at the sight. Hojo came up behind him, his eyes following Souta's line of view.

"What... is _that_?" Hojo asked in a sort of darkly fascinated voice, just staring at the figure that was sitting in front of the Goshinboku tree in a very feline-like position.

It was a little boy – maybe about five-years-old at most. His hair was short and fluffy, a light brown in colour with various white and black streaks covering some strands. However, what caught Souta's and Hojo's attention were the cat ears and the forked cat tail that the boy possessed.

Souta's eyes widened even more as the boy turned to look at them with familiar lime-green eyes.

"Buyo-chan?!"

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

"What the hell did you do to Edward?!" An enraged female voice sounded from behind Kagome – who merely widened her eyes, and swung around, practically blown away by the woman's beauty.

It was the blond female of the Cullen family – Kagome could not remember her name, however. Her golden eyes stared daggers into the human, hands on her hips while she expected an answer.

Rosalie knew that there was something weird about this new transfer student – the state that Edward came home in may have proved it though.

Alice and Jasper merely observed, the human muggers were long gone by now. The small, black-haired vampire blinked curiously, waiting for Kagome's answer, as she couldn't really see it clearly.

"What—? What are you talking about?" The miko asked, unsure of what Rosalie was implying. She didn't do anything to Edward, and she was sure that Shippou's illusion didn't affect Edward _that _badly.

They weren't humans; they should be able to take it.

'_Then again,' _Kagome thought worriedly, biting her lip, _'A fox's magic can be very strong.' _She sighed silently, wondering what was wrong with Edward – not that she was very concerned about his well-being. She had many more things to be worried about.

Sakuya, Sesshoumaru, and Souta were more important in her mind right now.

Alice intervened on Kagome's behalf. "What do you mean, Rosalie?" She asked in a falsely curious voice, she could see what Edward was currently going through, but was unsure of what caused it. She concluded that it probably did have something to do with Kagome, but didn't want to drive her away by accusing her.

"Edward came home, whining and bitching about... Bella. It was like he was in—" Rosalie cut herself off, not wanting to reveal anything about the supernatural to the human girl. She cursed heavily, glaring at Kagome once again.

The miko sighed, now realising what Edward might be going through. He probably was relieving his past, due to Shippou's powerful illusion. It wasn't the first time; she had been under the same illusion when she encountered a kitsune who wanted the Shikon no Tama.

It certainly wasn't a very pleasant experience to go through – though there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Is that really my fault?" Kagome asked with her brow raised, looking to Rosalie for answers. The blond woman merely sniffed haughtily, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "Whatever." She growled under her breath, motioning for Alice and Jasper to follow her to her rather nice red sports car.

Alice merely smiled serenely, grabbing onto Kagome's arm to pull her in the direction of Rosalie's car, intending on keeping her promise to bring Kagome to school and then to help her with her math. What she certainly didn't expect (nor see) was the rather harsh grip on her ice-cold arms, tightening to the point where if she were human, she would've gained very large bruises.

"Who are you?" A boyish voice growled darkly, Alice turned apathetically to stare into stunning emerald-green eyes, darkened with rage. "Let go of Kagome."

Jasper had immediately tensed, quickly advancing towards the unknown boy who was threatening his mate. He stopped when Alice motioned with her head for him to stop, though he stayed tensed, ready to attack at any time.

Kagome sighed tiredly, feeling even more stress. "Shippou-chan, it's okay, you can let go of her." She said in quiet Japanese, the fox hesitantly let go of his iron grip of Alice's cold arm, his senses completely alert. There were now three more of those... _things _(he was unsure of what they actually were, but he was sure he smelled something rather similar during his time spent in Europe), and he would take them out before they could ever be a threat towards Kagome.

"Hello!" Alice greeted cheerfully, as if Shippou had never grabbed her at all. Her golden eyes were slightly confused. This red-haired boy smelled slightly similar to that little blond girl, though his scent was mostly of a musky fox, and not feline. She couldn't see his future either, perhaps he and the blond girl were a variation of a werewolf? Even if it was highly unlikely, it was the only guess that she currently had.

Shippou didn't even dignify the black-haired girl with a response; he turned back to Kagome to see if she was alright.

"Sheesh, Shippou-chan! I can handle myself, you know!" Kagome said with irritation, she wasn't the weak, naive girl she was when she had first met Shippou – she didn't need protection all the time, not anymore...

"Heh, I know that!" Shippou said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his fiery red hair, keeping an alert eye on the Cullens, especially the blond male. He seemed to be the strongest out of the three; the numerous, almost-invisible scars only seemed to prove that. "I'm just worried, you know?"

Kagome smiled a bit, though it faded as Rosalie butted in rather rudely, "And who the hell are you?!" She asked in an annoyed tone, irritated that strange things seemed to be around the new girl. Just what was she?!

Shippou took one look at the blond female, and gave a teasing, appreciative low cat-call that was meant to enrage, and then gave a rather seductive smirk that did not fit his current boyish face. He stupidly opened his mouth to say something, probably vulgar, but Kagome smacked him in the face before that could happen.

"Ignore him." The miko said smoothly while the kitsune merely pouted, though smirked as he witnessed the immensely angered expression to the blond's beautiful face. He stuck out his tongue at her in a very childish manner, and she merely 'humph'ed,' turning around to go back to her red car.

"I would like to know that!" Alice said, tilting her head curiously while looking at Shippou. He couldn't be related to Kagome, there was no similar scent to either of them. She was actually surprised to see that the red-haired boy was even Japanese, he didn't look it to her – he had European features with his fiery red hair and stunning emerald-green eyes.

Shippou latched onto Kagome's arm in an excited manner. "I'm Shippou Koizumi! I'm Kagome's adopted brother!" He stated in an overly-excited voice, watching as Alice smiled with curiosity.

"Really? That's so interesting!" Alice stated, slowly going back to Rosalie's red sports car with Jasper's insistence. "I'm sorry, Kagome! But I promise to help you later with your math!" The small vampire stated, knowing that there was no way that she would be able to convince Rosalie to take Kagome to school with them.

"Uhh... yeah." Kagome merely muttered in response, not really looking forward to school. Maybe she should just skip? But she would fall behind even more...

The miko and the kitsune watched as the red car quickly spun around and raced off in the direction of the high school, speeding out of sight. Kagome then turned her eyes back onto Shippou, who only looked at the ground in response.

"I thought that you were leaving?" Kagome asked, her brow rose with her question. The fox only snorted, now throwing his arms behind his head in a casual manner.

"Yeah well, I've decided to stick around after seeing those... _things_." The kitsune wrinkled his nose. "And I'll just kill any of Sesshoumaru's subordinates if they ever track us here. They'll be dead before they could ever deliver a message back to the mutt." He muttered darkly, a threatening smirk appeared on his angelic face, Kagome looked warily away. When had her little fox grown? Become so... sadistic?

She didn't want the answer.

"I'll watch your den. Kirara and I both will." Shippou nodded proudly; there was no way he was going to leave Kagome alone with unknown beings running around the town. He'd just have to find a way to kill them silently – make it look like an _accident_...

"Right." Kagome sighed, "You can go back right now." She said, intending on going to school to study some, even if it wasn't open for another hour.

"Okay!" Shippou looked like an eager puppy ready to please its master. "I'll come check on you later!" He said, disappearing before Kagome could disagree.

And Kagome could only sigh once again, wondering when her life went to hell. She turned to slowly make her way to school, watching lazily as a police car stop roll past her.

She didn't see it stop...

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

"My cute little pup, how goes the search for the little miko?" Sakuya asked lazily, stretched out on a couch that she had placed in Sesshoumaru's business office for conveyance, waving her bare legs in the air.

Sesshoumaru didn't even look to his mother, bent over his paperwork instead, though he wasn't actually doing any of it. He was patiently counting down in his head, wishing his mother to leave. He wouldn't be disrespectful towards her, but he wouldn't be respectful either. It was just better not to speak around his mother.

"Insolent female!" A squeaky, old voice croaked, coming from a short, yet large human-looking toad that had a green tinge to his skin. "Sesshoumaru-sama will locate the miko without any trouble!" He squawked from the corner, shivering as Sesshoumaru's piercing golden stare pierced into him. He grovelled like usual, though he was largely ignored by both inu-youkai.

Sakuya actually pouted at the lack of answer, much to Sesshoumaru's displeasure. "You surely aren't going to ignore your own mother, are you?" She said playfully, examining her well-polished claws with little interest.

Sesshoumaru knew that he should probably speak now; he didn't want a revengeful mother on his case. It was pack law that one couldn't hurt the opposite sex – so he couldn't attack his mother without a just reason. Teasing him to the point of insanity, unfortunately, didn't count for a just reason either.

"The miko will be located shortly – Kohaku will do it." Sesshoumaru answered shortly, knowing the boy would be able to find Kagome. They had a special connection, after all – Kohaku was only alive because of Kagome's holy energy – so he would be able to locate her without any trouble by following that connection.

"The human taijiya-pup?" Sakuya asked with seemingly disinterest, though her golden eyes shined with a cautious win. She wouldn't have to waste her own time to locate the miko if her cute little pup was going to do it for her.

Good.

A sly smile appeared on her red-painted lips as she stretched like a cat on the sofa, lazily thinking of what her next plans may be.

Sakuya really doubted that she would need the boy-brat and the adolescent-brat anymore – but she would keep them around just in case. Besides, the brat could be a lure for the miko should she choose to resist her fate.

Otherwise, she just might as well kill the brat right now...

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

"Are you okay, miss?" A kind voice suddenly asked her, and Kagome swung around to look. She blinked, not expecting the officer who had just passed her to approach her. She panicked suddenly, did she look suspicious? She didn't want to be arrested! At least, not again...

"I saw that a red-haired kid that looked like he was bothering you. Is he gone now?" The police-man asked, and Kagome sighed in relief at the innocent question.

"Oh, no. It's fine, he's gone." Kagome answered quickly. She was slightly uncomfortable when the police officer seemed to examine her intently, before a look of realisation appeared on his tired-looking face.

"Oh, you're the new transfer student, aren't you?" He asked in light conversation, and Kagome only wondered how big transfer student news must be in this small, rainy town if even a police officer heard of it. "Bella told me about you... you came from Japan?"

"Yes." Kagome nodded politely, now realising that this cop must have a relation to Edward's brown-haired ex-girlfriend, probably her father.

The cop nodded to himself, seemingly content that he got it right. "Such an odd place to come to, Forks." The man muttered to himself, though Kagome heard every word of it. He looked up again. "If you need anything, Bella will help you." The man said, and Kagome merely nodded politely once again – not intending to do such a thing.

"Well, I'm the chief of police around here, Charlie Swan." The man introduced himself, offering his leather-gloved hand for a handshake. Kagome was glad to remember what the gesture meant this time. "And be careful – there is a wild animal on the loose, and its killing people." He warned, and Kagome blinked, not expecting such a thing. "Get the news out to your friends if you can."

The police officer, Charlie, nodded his head and Kagome gave a slight wave of goodbye as he left towards his police car. She turned around back to the school, bringing her cell-phone out of her jean pocket.

She sighed, fiddling with the thing for a moment, unsure of how to use the damn thing. She wasn't up on current technology, and was mostly uninterested in such things. It took her a while, but she finally dialled her home number.

"Shippou-chan— I need you to do something for me— yeah, it's about those... _things _as you so eloquently put it – watch them for me... they could be killing people here." Kagome spoke in rapid Japanese, focused on her conversation that she didn't notice the two people behind her.

"Kagome?" A voice asked behind her, and the miko swung around again, tensing as she felt a rather familiar feeling. Her mobile-phone was forgotten as she stared at source of the familiar energy.

It was barely noticeable, like it was suppressed or something, but it was still there.

There, with his arm wrapped around Bella Swan's shoulder, was a _wolf_...

* * *

Yeah, no Edward, but he'll come back in the next chapter... so review! And the next chapter should come out sooner...


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I needed a bit of a break from my Kagome-based xovers. This story is going to be one of the few that I'm really going to be focusing on right now (even if I can't stand Twilight anymore) simply because I have plotted most of it out

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

There, with his arm wrapped around Bella Swan's shoulder, was a _wolf_...

Kagome could only stare in shock, not realising how impolite she was being. The... wolf looked curiously at her – and he was not like what she had expected at all. That familiar wolf-wild look as she was so used just wasn't really all there, as if it were suppressed or hidden or something of the sort. "Oh! Uh – Swan." The miko gave the brown-haired girl a polite nod of the head, the silence was rather awkward between them. And... er–" Kagome wasn't sure on how to greet the wolf.

"Hello, Kagome." Bella said quietly, the awkwardness on her pale face grew. "This is Jacob Black." She gestured vaguely – watching as the much taller male wave cheerfully at the new kid on the block.

"Yo." Jacob smiled lazily, not noticing Bella's slow and almost useless attempts to shrug his arm off her slight shoulders. "You the new kid?" He asked, having heard about it from Bella's father.

"Yeah." Kagome sighed, mentally rolling her eyes. Just how far did the news spread that she was the new kid? This small and miserable town must have nothing better to do than just listen to rumours and gossip. It was kind of annoying, and Kagome suddenly wished that had moved to a bigger city. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The miko suddenly said, berating herself in her mind as she forgot her manners. She resisted the urge to bow, thinking how disappointed her mother would be at this scene – if she were still alive, that is.

"Same." Jacob smiled sloppily, "Are you one of Bella's friends?" He made a light casual conversation, the three were slowly making their way to the high school – Jacob was only making sure that Bella made it there safely, as he did not attend the school himself.

Both Kagome and Bella shifted awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. "Well, er– I don't really know Bella all that well..." Kagome stated vaguely, "I haven't been here very long." She added.

Jacob simply nodded as if content with the answer, and continued on his casual conversation. "So, how long have you been here?" He asked, arm tighter around Bella's shoulder. He honestly couldn't believe his luck – but that Edward Cullen was just no good for someone like Bella.

"A few days." Kagome answered shortly – not sure if she wanted this conversation to continue in the direction it was headed. He was probably going to ask why she moved here, something she really didn't want to answer.

And sure enough, that was exactly his next question. "Why move to a place like Forks?" Jacob shook his head, unable to understand why anyone would want to move to such a rainy place. Bella stayed silent – not knowing what to think of the new girl. The Cullens seemed unnaturally interested in the girl, and she didn't know how to react to that. The Cullens were never interested in human affairs unless it directly involved them... and this girl couldn't be a vampire because she simply did not have the features.

Kagome closed her blue eyes and forced out an answer, "I needed to get away from my home for a little while – I've had some... personal problems." She quickly left it at that, not wanting to get into details. The miko gave small glance towards Jacob every few minutes, slightly curious about him. She had no idea what he was because the wolfish-feel he had about him was very small and felt almost like it was repressed or something. It also felt like it was just dying to get out – this boy could be a real danger one day, that much she knew.

The second reason she was curious was because he felt like wolf – but just not like the kind that she was used to. It was a different sort of feel – this Jacob had no demonic-aura on him, so he wasn't a youkai. _'Then what kind of wolf is he?' _Kagome scrunched her pale face in concentration – holding back a frustrated sigh.

What kind of town did she move to? Why were there so many supernatural beings here? And that animal that the police officer, Charlie Swan, had told her about... Kagome had no doubt in her mind that it was not any kind of mortal animal causing the deaths of those people. She wasn't one hundred percent sure, but if Kagome had to guess – she would guess it was the Cullen family doing such a thing. There was just something... off about them. From what she observed, they did not eat any kind of human food – so what it possible that they ate _humans _instead?

It wasn't the first time she had come across such a thing, so the idea didn't surprise her in the least – though it was almost hard to hide her disgust. If they were doing such a thing – then she would have no problem with exterminating them.

_'Was Edward just toying with this girl, then?' _Kagome thought, narrowing her blue eyes. She clenched her fist, not even noticing the tense silence that had fallen around them. The school was not far from them – and Kagome went on ahead, not paying attention when Bella and Jacob stopped, the latter gave Bella a light hug and a kiss on the cheek – much to Bella's embarrassment and discomfort.

"Kagome!" A voice cheerfully stated, and golden eyes suddenly appeared right in front of Kagome – who blinked in surprise at the sudden action. "You're here!" Alice smiled, grabbing onto the miko's hand with her own freezing-cold one – pulling her in a direction.

Before Kagome could protest, Alice simply turned around, her golden eyes were light. "Edward wants to talk to you!" The small, black-haired female giggled – and Kagome could only sigh as she was dragged along with Alice, who was much stronger than she really should be.

There, standing in the library, obviously waiting for their arrival, was Edward – and he simply looked angry... at least, judging by that cold stare he threw towards Kagome as they entered the library...

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

"Are you sure that you can do this, human-pup?" Sakuya swung her bare legs up in the air, not even bothering to give this human boy a glance. The boy didn't look like much – but the dog demon knew well not to judge one by their appearance. She knew that this boy could give one hell of a fight if he really wanted to (though, he would stand no chance against someone like herself). "Do you really think that you can find the miko?" Sakuya purred, finally sparing the boy a glance. She smirked in a light amusement at how young this human-pup looked – which was around the human age of thirteen.

Kohaku lightly narrowed his eyes, not liking what Sakuya was implying. "Yes," He nodded without any external emotion – he had learned to control such things a long time ago. "I can sense Kagome-sama's presence... where ever she may be." He stated – they had a bond between them, after all. It was, literally, Kagome's holy energy that was keeping him alive (though, on the negative side, they were also the thing that kept him from aging as well).

Sakuya gave a sly smile with her red-painted lips, playing around with her long silvery hair. "Well, then," She stated with a bored yawn, showing off sharp fangs, "Since my cute little pup is so busy with his work, I'll be the one to come with you." Sakuya gave a feral smirk towards Kohaku – who merely gave an emotionless stare back. The taijiya had a really bad feeling about this female inu-youkai, he didn't like her company in the least.

"There's one thing I need to pick up before we leave," Sakuya lazily said, just remembering those two she had left at Higure Shrine, "And I think that you will make a great friend, pup."

--

"Buyo-chan?" Souta was taken back by the boy with obvious cat-like features, a forked tail swished wildly at the sight of him. The cat-boy leapt up to him on all fours, butting his head affectionately against Souta's stomach. "I... what –?" The boy was at a loss for words, surprised because his pet was really a demon in disguise?

"What is that?" Hojo asked in a serious fascination – blackened eyes were staring widely at the unfamiliar creature, even forgetting temporarily about his intense hunger. "Does that kid have... cat ears?" Hojo asked slowly, as if he couldn't believe his own (now advanced) vision.

Souta swallowed nothing (as his mouth didn't even produce saliva anymore) at Hojo's question, not sure how to answer it while petting the boy on his head. Buyo purred loudly as his familiar, younger master paid him attention. Souta was unsure if he should tell Hojo about Kagome at all – if he should tell everything, or just bits and pieces of Kagome's past year in the feudal era.

"Well," Souta began, turning to Hojo, who was eying the cat-boy with narrowed and thoughtful blackened eyes, "It's like this..."

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

"Hey, what's up?" Kagome smirked lazily as she stared at Edward's intent golden eyes, watching as they swirled with black. She had no idea why she was acting in the way that she was, but it just seemed like so much fun to rile Edward up.

"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Edward's cold voice seemed to float in the air, though it didn't affect Kagome in the very least. She couldn't be seduced by this... creature, even if he was beautiful.

"What do you mean?" Kagome played stupid, finally noticing that Alice left a long time ago, leaving the two of them alone. "I didn't do anything to you." She smirked even wider at Edward's decidedly frustrated expression.

Edward ran his hand through his reddish hair in a human-like gesture – not sure how to go about asking the new girl. He couldn't just reveal himself to her, in case she didn't know about vampires.

"She didn't, but _I _did." A low and almost seductive voice stated behind him, and Edward swung around in surprise. He widened his golden eyes at the young red-haired boy standing behind him, he didn't even sense him! "I'm surprised that you could even remember, I used my strongest illusionary spell on you." Shippou snickered, though he had switched to Japanese just to piss off the creature in front of him.

"Who are you?!" Edward demanded, vaguely recalling seeing this boy somewhere before. The vampire frowned coldly when the boy only laughed at him, emerald-green eyes shining in amusement.

"Kagome!" Shippou completely ignored Edward in favour of the miko, skipping past the vampire to glomp himself to Kagome's front. The fox merely pouted when she impatiently pushed him away, looking annoyed with her blue eyes. "Right, right. You're gonna ask me why I'm here?" The kitsune grinned at Kagome's twitching eye-brow. "Well, I called a few friends! They're gonna come here and help you hide and protect you from the old mutt!" The fox grinned at Kagome's frown.

"Plus, they'll help us find whatever _animal _is killing the humans around here." Shippou suddenly glared at Edward with his brilliant green eyes, obviously referring to Edward as the '_animal.' _

Edward had no idea what the hell they were saying because they were speaking in Japanese, and it was starting to piss him off. The red-haired boy was obviously referring to him in his last sentence judging by that gesture – and he had enough of it.

"Who's coming?" Kagome asked quietly, not noticing Edward's quiet rage. She had an inkling of who Shippou might've called.

"Kouga and Shiori-chan!" Shippou smiled at Kagome's slight surprise at the latter name – the miko hadn't seen the bat-hanyou since she had come to live in Kaede's village with them after her human mother had been killed. Shiori was heart-broken after Kagome was forced back into her own modern time by Miroku and Sango, having grown firmly attached to the miko.

"Really?" Kagome gasped slightly, blinking when she felt a frozen-cold hand grip her arm, lightly yanking her away from Shippou. "What do you want?" The miko reverted to English, looking up at Edward with obvious annoyance.

"Let go of her." Shippou growled calmly, his green eyes flashing red as his illusionary spell around himself almost broke down by his anger. "Or you'll really regret it."

Edward simply ignored the red-haired kid, the boy would be no match for him if they really did start a fight. The musky smell of a fox was really starting to irritate his sensitive nose, and he unconsciously shuffled closer to Kagome to inhale her intoxicating and heavenly scent. He shook his head slightly at the haze his mind seemed to be suddenly in, wanting his answers.

"It's okay, Shippou-chan." Kagome smiled warmly towards the fox-demon; she could handle Edward on her own. "Just go meet Kouga-kun and Shiori-chan at the airport or where ever." The miko waved off, giving Shippou a confident look with her blue eyes at his hesitant expression.

"Fine." Shippou muttered, giving Edward a glare with his emerald-green eyes before moving swiftly past them, disappearing behind a book shelf.

"We need to talk." Edward said lowly, careful not to grip her arm any tighter; he'd leave her a bruise if he did so. "Alone." His tone left for no arguments as he practically dragged a slightly struggling Kagome with no problem through the library. Luckily, there was very few students in the library at this hour, though some of them pointedly stared at them with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Unluckily, much to Edward's discomfort, Bella seemed to be on of those students.

His ex-girlfriend was one of the students outwardly staring at them in shock. The girl looked down at the floor when she caught Edward's intense golden stare, unable to take it anymore. Edward curled his lip in a slight disgust as the scent of a wolf just seemed to drench her body – pulling Kagome a lot harder than necessary to leave the library.

"There's no need to be so harsh." Kagome muttered under her breath in annoyance, easily ignoring the pain in her arm where Edward was harshly gripping onto. He would leave a bruise there, with no doubt, but Kagome didn't really care. A bruise was nothing compared to what she was used to.

The miko stayed silent as she was dragged into the woods surrounding the school, where Edward finally let go of her arm to simply stare at her with his intent golden eyes. Kagome merely huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well?" She demanded lightly, rolling her blue eyes at Edward's silence. "Are you going to talk?"

"What are you?" Edward's question was intense, and Kagome merely shook her head at the question – holding back a snicker. Did he really think he was going to get that information out of her so easily?

"What do you mean?" Kagome pretended to be innocent, looking away from him pointedly – causing Edward's annoyance and irritation to grow. "I'm just a normal girl who has moved to this miserable place from Japan."

Edward held his breath, his desire to eat was starting to really overwhelm him. This was probably a bad idea, but he wanted – needed answers! "Why aren't you afraid of me?" He asked lowly, golden-black eyes flashing with hunger. "Why aren't you scared of me – like everyone else is?!"

"Scared of you?" Kagome repeated, snorting in amusement. "Should I be?" She asked, looking around at the surrounding vegetation with a vague interest. "Are you going to _hurt _me out here?" She turned back to Edward, blinking and suddenly wary of his dark expression.

"You should be." Edward said with absolutely no tone whatsoever – and before Kagome could even react, Edward was suddenly in her line of vision before everything went dark. The miko cursed before she fell to the ground, she had let down her guard way too much in order to tease Edward.

It seemed she would now pay the price of such teasing...

* * *

Yeah, review if you're still interested in this story... It sure would inspire me...


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Sorry for the long wait

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

Kagome woke up with a start, her blue eyes popped open wide and she took in a deep, sudden breath. At first, she didn't realise where exactly she was as she furrowed her eyebrows, taking in the room with narrowed eyes.

She was with Edward last, wasn't she? Out in a forest... well, this certainly wasn't any kind of forest. The miko sat up, ignoring the pain in her head with the motion. She was in a room – one that looked like a nurse's room at a school...

"Are you alright?" A sweet voice asked, and Kagome blinked – surprised that she didn't even sense her presence. Bright golden eyes looked to her bemusedly, though laced with a tiny bit of concern. Kagome really had to wonder why Alice would even be concerned for her when they barely even knew each other, "Edward said you had fainted when he was talking to you, and hit your head when you fell."

_'Of course he would.' _Kagome almost rolled her eyes at the thought, touching the gauze-bandage that had been wrapped around her head. Did Edward really hit her that hard? She could barely even remember seeing him move, let alone hit her. _'Which means we could be dealing with something that is on par with a demon.' _The miko thought grimly, blinking again when Alice prodded her curiously – obviously waiting for her answer.

"Oh! Yeah – I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Kagome quickly waved off, though she was internally cursing that damn Edward for this. At least he didn't kill her though...

"Would you like to go to the hospital to get it checked out?" Alice asked, "My adopted father is a doctor there, I'm sure he'll he happy to make sure it's not a concussion."

"No! No... I'm fine." Kagome sighed, shaking her head. A bolt of pain struck her, and she stopped – hoping that it wasn't _really _a concussion. All she wanted was a normal life, and this is what she got...

"Alright, are you well enough to stay at school? I can drive you home if you want." Alice offered, and Kagome shook her head again – wondering why this Alice was so friendly. Again, they barely even knew each other, and Kagome was not looking for any new friends.

"I'm fine now." Kagome stated shortly, wondering when Shippou would get back with Kouga and Shiori. She was sort of excited, she hadn't seen Shiori for quite some time now, "I should just get to class now."

"Alright." Alice smiled cheerfully, "It's too bad, we don't share the same class this time. But Edward does!" The petit girl brightened considerably while Kagome held back a sigh of frustration. Was every single class she had was with Edward? "I'll walk you to your next class!"

"You don't have to..." Kagome weakly trailed off, though stopped as she saw it was rather useless. Alice grabbed her arm with her cold hand, and was now currently dragging her with strength that someone as small as Alice should not possess.

"Kagome, do you need a guide around town? I can show you the best places to shop! Though, it's really better to go into the bigger cities for the latest fashions." Alice babbled about the latest trends in clothing, and Kagome tried really hard to listen, but failed rather miserably.

Shopping and clothes really didn't interest her anymore...

"Oh, we're here." Alice sounded surprised, blinking her golden eyes, "I'm sure that Edward will apologise to you." The small vampire gave a sly smile to Kagome before could even react, bouncing off to her own class, lighting up as she spotted Bella, and latching onto the brunette's arm.

Kagome sighed as she caught Bella's eye – the latter looked away uncomfortably as she was dragged away by Alice. The miko walked into the class as all the students seemed to stop what they were doing to look at her – all their eyes were glued to the gauze-bandage wrapped around her head. The miko tried to adjust her long black hair in order to cover the bandages, though it didn't really work as all the other students already spotted it.

Oh, great... the only empty seat was, again, next to Edward Cullen...

_'Fate really must hate me.' _Kagome thought miserably, slowly dragging herself to sit next to Edward. He was glancing at her with intense golden eyes – all traces of hungry black seemed to have seeped out of his eyes. Kagome really didn't want to talk to him, but he decided otherwise.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked in a guarded tone, "You just suddenly passed out when we were talking." He stated, as if that was what really happened.

Kagome sneered, her frustration bubbling up to high levels, "You would like to think that, wouldn't you?" She shot back quickly, watching him tense and look at her that much more intently. His eyes darkened attractively, but the miko didn't really care, "I know it was you," She said calmly, touching the bandage wrapped around her head, "You knocked me out."

"And you're sure you don't have a concussion?" Edward stated in an apathetic tone – looking at her in that same guarded way, "You hit your head pretty hard on a rock, you were bleeding."

"I'm sure I was." Kagome muttered, she could feel the sticky blood clot underneath the bandages. She could also see that Edward's ice-cold hand was trembling along the desk-table. The miko wanted to end their lame conversation, but Edward wouldn't have it.

"Where's your friend, the red-headed one?" Edward asked – remembering there was something very off about that red-headed kid. He had nothing but the scent of a musky fox all about him, nothing even remotely human, "And that blond girl." He added.

"Does it matter?" Kagome's frustration was climbing higher and higher, "It's my personal life, you can't butt in. I don't have to tell you anything." The miko sighed, looking back to the chalkboard to try and ignore Edward from here on out.

_'It does if it involves immortal children... and the Volturi's business as well.' _Edward thought, wishing he could read this girl's thoughts.

He really did hope that the red-headed boy and the blond girl really weren't child vampires...

* * *

_Higure Shrine – Tokyo, Japan_

"And demons actually exist?" Hojo asked in a skeptical voice, eying the newly-transformed Buyo – watching its forked tail swish back and forth.

Souta sighed, "Yeah, it's what I think we've... turned into – somehow." The boy sounded depressed as he patted Buyo's soft brown and streaked hair. He had told Hojo the very basics of youkai existence to the older male, but not Kagome's trips to the past because that was just private.

"And Higurashi-san knows about them?" Hojo's voice still sounded disbelieving, even as he stared at the evidence right in front of him, "About _youkai_?" His voice was now strained.

"Yep." Souta nodded, "We _are _the descendants of miko, houshi, and taijiya." The boy raised his brow over to Hojo's direction, "And don't you think it's kinda weird what we've turned into?"

Hojo was simply speechless, but accepted Souta's explanation nonetheless. Why else would he change so drastically? His looks seemed to have improved by one hundred percent and he was always thirsty for _something_.

It seemed to be the same for Souta...

"What happened to you?" Hojo asked, wondering if when Souta bit him is when he had changed. So, was he some kind of werewolf or something?

"I... don't remember." Souta tightened his grip on Buyo, though the cat simply butted his head underneath Souta's chin in response, "I was attacked... I think. I don't know what it was." Souta sighed, trying to recall what had happened to him without any luck, "Whatever it was, it killed Mama and Jii-chan..."

"And does Higurashi-san even know about this?" Hojo asked, eyes darkening when he thought about his infatuation with the girl. Souta glanced up at him fearfully, obviously unsure what to say.

"She'll... she'll be–" Souta couldn't even finish his sentence, "Just call her Kagome, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." The boy murmured, Hojo's politeness was getting rather annoying.

"There you are, boy." A seductive voice purred, causing Souta and Hojo to jumped in surprise. They both turned around to look at the beautiful, silver-haired woman – a smaller boy was standing rigidly behind her, "Are you done packing?" She asked in an impatient tone.

"Yeah... Hojo's coming too." Souta said in a small tone, fearful on this woman's very presence. However, it seemed that Hojo's dense nature carried over.

"Are you one of these 'demons,' then?" Hojo demanded, tensing as he noticed that Sakuya's alluring golden eyes narrowed at the rather forward question.

"Do not talk to me in that tone, boy." Sakuya sniffed arrogantly and in an condescending manner, looking at Hojo like one would regard an insect. Sakuya's look softened slightly as she glanced over to Souta, knowing that he was the one she had to keep in order to get to the miko. The other didn't really matter, and she would kill him if needed.

"Here." Sakuya said shortly as she threw a few things over to the two vampires – both of whom caught the items easily, "Come quickly, we are leaving now." The female inu-youkai ordered, throwing a lazy look over to the cat-like boy in Souta's arms, "Is that a nekomata?" She asked with a disinterested voice, wrinkling her perfect nose.

"Yeah, I think so." Souta answered quickly, glancing down to his new ID cards and passport. He raised a brow, _'My new 'name' is Hattori Kouta?' _Souta thought and sighed, _'At least it's easy to remember.'_

Hojo didn't have to change his name as he wasn't currently being searched for by the police, though Sakuya seemed to have gotten him a passport anyway.

"We're leaving." Sakuya stated simply, turning around in an elegant way – her long silvery hair swishing hypnotically as she gracefully walked down the steps of the shrine. Hojo followed quickly, and Souta – for the first time – finally noticed the other boy, who looked a little older than his own age.

"What's your name?" Souta asked quietly, wondering exactly who this was – and what connection this kid had to Sakuya and possibly Kagome.

The boy smiled in a blank-like way, and Souta immediately noticed that it didn't reach his dark eyes – much like Kagome.

"My name is Higurashi Kohaku."

* * *

_Forks, Washington, USA_

The class seemed to take an eternity to end.

Kagome almost wanted to stab the male beside her with her pencil, but held herself back with all of her might. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as Edward seemed to find his new hobby in staring at her with his intent golden eyes – obviously ignoring the teacher, who prattled on and on about who-knows-what.

Finally, the miko could not longer stand the staring and snapped, "What?!" She whispered in a furious voice, wincing as pain rang throughout her head.

Edward's frown deepened at the scent of fresh blood, but easily bit down his desire as he had merely fed only a few hours before, "You're still bleeding – you should go to the hospital." He stated in a blank tone, amazed that no one else seemed to notice that the new girl was bleeding behind her gauze-bandages.

Ignorant humans...

"I guess you should be worried," Kagome muttered, "After all, it was _you _who caused the wound in the first place." Her blue eyes glanced over to see Edward's reaction, satisfied when he stiffened even further.

"Both your eyes are blue," Edward abruptly changed the subject, "You had green eyes before, and then mismatched eyes after that."

Kagome cursed internally, wondering when her eyes had both turned back to their original colour, "I wear contacts," She lied, "Since I have heterochromia."

Edward looked as if he didn't believe a word that she was saying, but much to her relief, didn't ask any further as he finally turned back to the teacher.

Kagome sighed as she also turned back to the droning teacher – simply regretting her choice in enrolling in a high school again.

It was only her luck that she would have chosen the only school within the region with supernatural beings attending it...

--

"Have you noticed a pattern?" A police officer stated as he observed the scene, obviously trying to avoid looking at the two torn and shredded bodies of the hikers. Forks was a small town, things like this just didn't happen here.

"What's that?" Charlie Swan asked as he also observed the two dead bodies – his suspicions were getting higher and higher each time there was more dead bodies. He didn't think that even a wild animal could kill this much in such a short amount of time...

"Ever since that new kid shown up, all these murders have taken place." The rookie officer worded it very carefully, and didn't bother to defend his statement when a few other officers at the scene laughed at him.

"Haven't you heard? The new kid in town is only a teenager – I highly doubt that she could do something like _this_." The other officer gestured to the grisly scene with a slight shudder. Finally, the original officer who had suggested the opinion joined in the few laughs with the absurd allegation.

However, Charlie could not help but ponder on those words as he took another glance down at the two dead hikers. His hands clenched – things like this simply didn't happen in Forks.

But the murders and that timing of that new girl's arrival were only a mere coincidence, right?

--

"When the hell is she gonna get here?" A rough voice demanded, cobalt blue eyes looking annoyed with impatience, "And why the hell is she even going to a high school anyway?

"It's law here or something," A voice lazily waved off, sounded irritated with the first voice, "It'll only be for a few more hours. Try to hold on." Shippou grinned foxily at the wolf – who just couldn't sit still in his spot.

"Shippou-kun – you should tell us about the beings here." An older voice came from the obviously older female, one who looked to be in her older forties.

"Of course, Shiori-chan. Anything for you." Shippou winked suggestively at the bat-hanyou – gaining a disgusted look from both the wolf and the bat.

"I'm not falling for your kitsune-seduction," Shiori stated simply as Kouga snickered, "And besides," Shiori gave a light serene smile towards the fox, knowing her next statement would rile up Kouga's fur, "I thought that you wanted to go after Kagome-sama." The bat-hanyou smirked at Shippou's suddenly guilty look.

"What?!" Kouga snapped, turning his head back and forth between Shippou and Shiori, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard, "You're going after _my _Koishii?!" Kouga snarled, fangs bared threateningly, "She raised you!!"

"I know, isn't that strange? Going after the one who raised you like _that_?" Shiori added to the fire with amusement, giving a few quiet laughs as Shippou glared at her.

"So?" The fox snorted, "It's not like she's off-limits!" Shippou snapped back, red tails twitched as Kouga glared fiercely at him.

Kirara, in her kitten-like form, gave a feline version of a sigh.

Kouga stood up, ready to get into a scrap – though, Shippou abruptly changed the topic of conversation, "The _things _that are here are killing people – and I have absolutely no idea what they are." The kitsune stated, causing Kouga and Shiori to blink in surprise.

"You have no idea?" Shiori asked quietly, a bit troubled at what Shippou had to say. It would be so much easier if they knew _what _they were dealing with...

"So, what's your point?" Kouga snorted with contempt, "Who gives a damn what they are?! We just track 'em down, and kill them. Simple as that." The wolf stated with an arrogant smirk, perking up as he heard the door open and slam shut – the fragrance of flower blossoms filled the room quite quickly.

The two youkai and the hanyou all straightened up as the miko finally walked into the room – dropping her bag in shock as she finally noticed the occupants in the room.

"Kouga-kun?! Shiori-chan?!" Kagome blinked in shock – and before she even knew it, she was enveloped into an almost bone-crushing hug, courtesy of Kouga.

"How's my mate?" Kouga's fluffy tail wagged happily at the presence of his future mate. His took in a few good whiffs, and snapped his cobalt-blue eyes a moment later. He pulled away from the hug, observing the bandages wrapped around her head with angry eyes.

"Who did this to you?!" Kouga growled in a low tone, and Kagome sighed – throwing Shiori a small smile, and received one in return.

"It's like this..."

* * *

Does everyone know there's a new Inuyasha anime out? I dunno how they're gonna squeeze in the last two hundred chapters into a twenty-six episode season...


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Well, the response to the last chapter was kinda disappointing. I really need some motivation right now.... -_-

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

"I told you! I'm fine!" Kagome grumbled under her breath, pouting miserably from the spot in the front seat, "And I don't need to go to the hospital!" The miko tried to convince the wolf demon, but he wouldn't have it.

"You are not fine! You have a concussion, and you can't heal those with your holy powers. It's best if you see a human doctor," Kouga said firmly, driving rather wildly, and making Kagome feel rather uncomfortable with how fast he was actually going, "You're my mate, I've gotta take care of you."

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome muttered, not even bothering to disagree because she knew it was useless by now. She glanced at Kouga curiously, "I thought that you were going to stay behind in Japan to look for Souta." The miko said in a small voice, watching as Kouga winced. She wondered at the specific reaction – hopefully, her little brother was still alive.

"Souta is alive," Kouga finally stated after a moment of silence, causing Kagome's heart to skip a beat in relief. The wolf watched as Kagome slumped down, obviously a bit shocked at the news, "But Sesshoumaru located him before I could," Kouga grimaced, "Well, actually – the mutt's mother found him, and that's when I decided I'd come here to protect you instead."

"Sakuya has Souta?!" Kagome said in horror, shaking at the implications. Since Sakuya was trying to kill her, then that meant she could use Souta as some sort of bargaining chip against her, "You should have stayed in Japan and tried to retrieve him, then!" The miko snapped, and Kouga blinked in shock, obviously not expecting that kind of reaction.

"You need to relax, koishii," Kouga said in soft tone, "That bitch wouldn't hurt Souta – I've heard that Sesshoumaru had forbidden it." The wolf said, knowing the female dog wouldn't hurt the boy because it was an alpha's direct order. She would be punished severely if she broke that order.

Kagome said nothing, merely ran her fingers through her tangled hair in frustration. She wasn't comforted by Kouga's words in the least, but Souta was probably safe – at least, for now he was, "I'm sorry, Kouga-kun. It's just... strange things are happening in this area, and I didn't want any of that." The miko apologised after a moment, sighing as Kouga only grinned in his wild way.

"Of course I forgive you, my mate!" The wolf smiled, causing Kagome's mood to lighten some. She knew that she probably would never be interested in Kouga romantically, but he was always a good and loyal friend to have, "Tch, this is called a hospital?" Kouga snorted as they finally reached the tiny building that was the town's hospital, "It's so small!"

"Yeah.... I don't really need to be examined." Kagome tried to convince the wolf otherwise, but he didn't listen to her as he pulled her car into the parking lot, "Really, Kouga-kun!" The miko protested lightly as he forcibly dragged her into the building and into the small front area.

"And what might you need?" The front receptionist said in a friendly tone, though her eyes were completely glued onto Kouga and his wildly rough good looks. She seemed to swoon when Kouga gave her a clueless smile, completely oblivious to her reaction.

"My girl here needs to get an examination; she might have a concussion." Kouga simply said, snickering as Kagome blushed a light pink at his term of endearment, "Get her in quickly."

"Don't call me that," Kagome muttered, still protesting as the nurse pushed her into a small examining room, giving her a warm smile.

"Dr. Cullen will see you in a moment, dear." The woman said, leaving the room and a suddenly-panicking miko. Kagome could vaguely hear the nurse giggle when she attempted to get Kouga into a light conversation, but paid no mind to it.

_'Dr. Cullen?! Didn't Alice say that her adopted father was a doctor here?' _Kagome sighed, wondering if she could leave the hospital without being caught, and was even about to attempt to do so when an alluring voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Kagome Kuchiki, I presume?" An ethereal blond male walked into the room, causing Kagome to jump in shock at the quick appearance. The miko fidgeted nervously, swallowing nothing when she finally glanced at the male, remembering seeing him in the forest with that beautiful woman and Edward when Shippou had cursed them with his illusion, "I am Doctor Carlisle Cullen."

"Oh, n-nice to meet you!" Kagome blinked, unsure of how to react. This.... _thing _could be the 'animal' that was killing the people around here, but why would he be a doctor, then? It didn't make much sense, "I don't even know why I'm here, I'm not really hurt or anything!"

Carlisle smiled soothingly, glancing down at the papers. He could smell blood from behind the bandages around her head, "It says here that you may have a concussion. May I take a look?" Carlisle asked politely, taking a step closer and an unconscious breath. He looked to the girl curiously, seeing that Edward and Alice were right – this girl really did have an incredible scent about her. If he didn't have such great control, he'd probably be all over her – and he had to marvel at his 'children's' control that they hadn't jumped her yet, especially Jasper.

"I guess...." Kagome muttered, wary about letting an unknown being near her, but seeing no other choice. If she really did have a concussion, then there was no point in letting it get even worse. The miko unconsciously tensed as Carlisle came now, but forced herself to calm down.

The winced slightly as Carlisle lightly touched the bandages, it was an unconscious reaction, but he seemed to notice it anyway. The blond male smiled soothingly, and Kagome was almost blown away by his beauty – he was almost as beautiful as Sesshoumaru.... "This may hurt just a bit." The doctor warned, unravelling the bandages and dislodging the blood clot.

"Itai...." Kagome muttered, feeling sticky blood on her head. However, a cool touch slightly relieved the pain, and Kagome almost found herself leaning into the touch before she regained herself – shaking with slight embarrassment, _'What the hell am I doing?'_

The miko looked away with discomfort as Carlisle examined her intently for a few moments, "It does seem that you have a minor concussion. It would be best if you avoid sleep for a few more hours, and these will help with the pain." Carlisle said with a smile, handing her bottle of pain killers, "I would like if you could come back within a few days just to make sure it doesn't get any worse."

"Yeah, sure...." Kagome muttered, just ready to bolt out of there. She just didn't know how to react around this male – he was just.... strange. She was still uncomfortable as he escorted her back to the front room, where Kouga was still waiting.

"Kagome–!" Kouga quickly cut himself off, hackles raised unconsciously as he caught sight of the doctor, fangs bared from behind his illusion. The miko reacted before she even knew what she was doing, not even bothering to look at the doctor's reaction to Kouga.

"Kouga-kun, stop it!" Kagome snapped in Japanese, allowing her fingertips to spark with holy magic in her warning. Kouga flinched back immediately, backing down from his attack on the unknown being. The miko huffed, slightly turning to see Carlisle's reaction.

His ethereal face was completely blank, watching Kouga with narrowed golden eyes with caution. Kagome could see there was a hint of disgust etched into his perfect face, and she had to wonder about that for a moment. She snapped out of it a second later, "Thank you, Dr. Cullen, for your help. I'll come back in a few days. You can send me the bill." Kagome smiled lightly, snapping Carlisle out of whatever thoughts he was in.

The doctor nodded professionally, thought kept his alluring eyes on Kouga the entire time, "It was nice meeting you, Kagome. Alice talks fondly of you." He said lightly, not showing his disgust externally at the stench of the wolf.

Kagome smiled shakily at that information, and wondering why Alice was so intent on being friends, "Thanks again." She said quietly, surprised when Kouga pulled her out roughly as Carlisle watched impassively, golden eyes hard as he watched the wolf pull the human girl out of the hospital.

First, his children said that she had a feline-like girl, then a fox-like boy, and now a wolf?

Just who was this new girl?

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

Emerald-green eyes watched her target firmly, not letting them get out of her sight. The female smirked, seeing this as her chance to finally claim what was hers. It just wasn't fair! She had waited patiently for Kouga to finally get over his silly little infatuation with the human girl, but he was actually serious about it!

Ayame huffed, her fiery red hair trailed down her back in an attractive manner as she thought of the miko who had caught _her _future mate's attention. Kagome was just no good for someone like Kouga, and she was tired of Kouga panting over the miko like some love-sick puppy!

And so, she needed a plan to get rid of the miko, and focus her beloved Kouga's attention onto her!

And this was just the perfect opportunity.

"And tell me why a lowly wolf is following us?" A seductive voice cut her from her thoughts; emerald-green met impassive gold. Ayame swallowed, gathering courage for her proposed plan. She ignored the other beings around Sakuya, all looking at her curiously – except for that taijiya-pup, who was regarding her suspiciously, "Do not waste my precious time, we have a plane to catch." Sakuya said with boredom, regarding the red-haired wolf with little interest.

"I want to go with you," Ayame said firmly, catching Sakuya's eye and trying to convey her message silently. She certainly didn't want to alert the others to her plan, "I can 'help' you."

Sakuya slowly smirked, realising at once what this wolf was trying to convey. It was amusing at how many enemies one little miko could make, "Come if you wish." Sakuya purred, causing Ayame to smirk victoriously. Hojo and Souta were completely oblivious to Ayame's intentions.

However, Kohaku was not.....

.... and he would warn Kagome before they even stepped foot into the United States....

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

"Looks like they are not stopping," Shiori said grimly, observing the three dead bodies with intent violet eyes, "And they are really close to Kagome-sama's house." The bat-hanyou concluded, looking up to see the fox's reaction.

Shippou was shaking with anger, almost with disbelief with how 'open' these things were. They weren't even trying to hide their kills for Inari's sake! He was also well aware of how close the kills were coming to Kagome's secluded house, "We'll just have to stay on guard." Shippou growled, sniffing the air only to scent those strange beings. However, the scent was slightly stale, meaning they had moved on already.

"Do you think we should tell the local police about this?" Shiori asked, "This is a small town. People are bound to notice if anyone is missing." The hanyou sighed, it would be nice to know what they were going up against.

"No, we'll just let the police find them on their own. We don't want to make ourselves look suspicious." Shippou said firmly, looking annoyed as his tails twitched, "C'mon, let's go. We've got the information we need." The kitsune stood up, muttering some spell under his breath in order to erase their scents from the clearing.

"What a town that Kagome-sama picked," Shiori shook her silver head with amusement, "However, it is not surprising," The bat-hanyou smiled at Shippou's snickers, "I just wonder _what _is causing all of this, though."

"Yeah," Shippou grimaced, "Me too."

--

"Kouga-kun, just calm down!" Kagome snapped, annoyed with Kouga's small growls as he sloppily drove her car through the small town, "You should stop and let me drive!" The miko rolled her eyes, blinking when Kouga actually did what she said, and pulled to the side of the road.

"That.... _thing _touched you!" Kouga snarled, trying to get his temper under control. He breathed in Kagome's scent, which seemed to work wonders for him. He sighed, throwing the miko a brief apologetic look – which she nodded at.

"It's fine," Kagome shook her head, "Anyways, I think I have a job for you," The miko said, looking back at Kouga. She had been thinking of this job for him for a while now, "I think there may be a pack of wolves here." She said, watching Kouga blink his cobalt eyes in surprise, "Yeah, it was kinda shocking to me too. I've only encountered one wolf so far, but I know when there's one, there's usually more," Kagome smiled a bit, "He was... strange. It was like his wolf.... was suppressed or something. And he wasn't an actual youkai.... I'm not sure what kind of wolf he was exactly." Kagome admitted.

"And you want me to check it out?" Kouga grinned ferally, suddenly interested in this supposed 'wolf pack.' "Sure thing, anything for my mate!"

Kagome smiled back, ignoring the mate part, "His name was Jacob Black. I'm not exactly sure where he lives, though."

"No problem, if he's around, I'll find him." Kouga reassured the miko with his wild grin, "I just want you to be careful around those.... _things_," Kouga wrinkled his nose, "They stink."

Kagome snickered, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I know." She sighed, blinking when Kouga opened the door to her car, "You're going now?" She asked with slight shock.

"Of course! We need to know what the hell is going on in this miserable town as soon as possible!" Kouga stated firmly, "You can drive yourself home, right?"

"Yes," Kagome said impatiently, looking at Kouga anxiously, "Just... just don't do anything too rash," She said, "And I'm not sure that he actually knows that he is a wolf, so don't reveal yourself right away." She quickly added, though Kouga only snorted.

"What idiot doesn't know he's a wolf?" Kouga muttered, giving Kagome a rough smile, "I'll be back as soon as I have information." He said, disappearing in a tornado of wind.

Kagome sighed, smiling at nothing with a bit of affection. She shifted herself over to the driver's seat, intending on going home so she could catch up with Shiori. It had started to rain again, and she grumbled – wondering if it did anything else here.

Really! She hadn't seen the sun since she had gotten here....

Kagome quickly pulled off the side of the road, frowning when she noticed how thick the rain had become in a manner of seconds. She waved off the uneasy feeling that seemed to have suddenly burst within her chest, and tried to focus on the road.

However, it didn't seem that the oncoming car was paying much attention to the road....

Kagome widened her blue eyes as she finally spotted the car careening directly in her path, seeing that he had probably lost control of his car, and tried to maneuver her way out of his path – only her reflexes were far too slow to really do anything.

The miko couldn't even make a sound as the oncoming car smashed into the side she was sitting on, shattering the glass and easily dragging her car along with the other. Kagome could vaguely hear screams and shouts of horror, but didn't pay them much attention when pain exploded behind her eyes, leaving everything dark as she was on the verge of passing out.

The smashed cars finally came to a tumbled stop as onlookers gasped in horror at the mangled mess and remains of the two cars. 911 had already been dialled numerous times as the crowd gathered around to see if anyone was even still alive.

Kagome gasped in pain, feeling that she was trapped in the mangled mess because she couldn't move. The miko was vaguely aware of the dripping blood that seemed to be everywhere, but didn't pay it much attention when she realised that it hurt so much just to move her neck.

Blood was dripping into her blurred eyes, and pain just seemed to explode in every part of her body as it finally realised what had happened.

Oh – a car accident, just her luck....

Kagome vaguely realised she could feel those strange auras again, and glanced up groggily to see a few pairs of concerned golden eyes a fair distance away from her.

_'Oh, great – just what I need,' _Kagome thought sarcastically, on the verge of passing out from the pain while ignoring the horrified shouts and blaring sirens in the background, _'This would only happen to me, wouldn't it?'_

She swore she saw Edward's concerned golden eyes before she blacked out completely....

* * *

Well, the new Twilight movie is out – has anyone seen it yet? Is it even worth going to? Anyways, please review and tell me what you think! (I could really use the inspiration!)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Well, I was dragged to see the new Twilight movie, and I thought it was a complete cheesefest (though an improvement from the first one).... anyways, this story should (hopefully) be updated every other week from now on (though schooling might interfere just a bit)

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

_'Oh, Kami-sama!' _Kagome moaned painfully, startling herself out of unconsciousness when pain just seemed to explode from every part of her body. She didn't dare move, though she was vaguely aware of how her legs were trapped within the wreckage of the damaged car. Blood was dripping everywhere, and the miko could hear shouts and screams and panicking voices – and they were starting to make her head hurt even more.

"You just need to relax, Kagome," A soothing voice suddenly said, not too far away from her position. Kagome let out a pained gasp, cracking her eyes open just enough to see that it was Alice who had spoken. Edward was right behind her, his eyes flickered back and forth between gold and black; most likely because of all the blood that she had split, "Carlisle is on his way; he'll help you." Alice murmured, holding her own breath at the divine scent of blood.

"Great," Kagome bit out sarcastically, biting her lip as to hold in another moan of pain. She had never been in so much pain before– well, this was only second to when her soul had been forcibly ripped from her body, that was the most pain she had ever been in. But this didn't seem to be too far behind.... "W-what about the other p-person?" Kagome breathed out, not aware that she was now trembling and shivering violently, "Are they a-alright?"

"They died on impact," Edward answered her with a low tone, it was almost emotionless, "Can you move your legs?" Edward asked, narrowing his golden-black eyes at the crowd, fighting back the urge to sneer. If only these humans hadn't gathered around, they would've been able to free Kagome from the wreckage with ease with their strength.

"T-they're dead?!" Kagome coughed, her blue eyes wide with shock and guilt as she struggled even more desperately to free her legs – probably injuring herself further in the process, "Dead, I killed them?" The miko moaned, slumping down even further into the wreckage.

"Jasper," Alice turned back to her mate, who was standing a ways back from the scene as to try and avoid the scent of fresh blood, "Jasper." Alice repeated, not saying another word because Jasper seemed to get what she was trying to say. The small black-haired female watched as her mate put his special skill to work – to try and calm down the now panicking and almost hyperventilating Kagome.

_'The hell?!' _Kagome almost stopped her pained breathing when something calming forcibly washed over, almost causing her to forget her panicking in the first place, _'Get the hell out!' _The miko, despite being in great pain, was not happy with the forcible intrusion on her emotions.

"Jasper, what's wrong?!" Edward demanded, looking back to his adopted brother with alarm as he seemed to take a step back in surprise, "Does your power not affect her, too?!" Edward asked in a low tone, watching with slight frustration as Jasper nodded without any emotion. The blond vampire could read the girl's emotions, but it seemed that he couldn't manipulate them as he wanted.

"Kagome!!" A boyish voice suddenly yelled out, causing the panicking group of people to glance up at a young red-haired boy – who looked absolutely stunned at what had occurred, "Kagome, are you alright?!" Shippou asked, horror bright and clear within his emerald-green eyes as he observed the accident scene. He cursed, mentally reminding himself to gut that damn Kouga for letting this happen to his precious miko.

"D-do.... I look alright?!" Kagome panted in a sarcastic tone, her face paling from the loss of blood, "Just.... hurry and get me out of here." The miko moaned as another wave of pain seemed to travel up her spine.

Shippou growled, his emerald eyes flashing red as he gave the annoying crowding humans a deathly glare. If only there weren't around, then he would have been able to easily rescue Kagome from the wreaked car. And those.... _things _were just standing there and observing almost apathetically....

It made him want to rip out their throats.....

"Carlisle's here, he'll take good care of you." Alice said soothingly, watching as the ambulance along with Carlise and a few other paramedics rushed over to the car accident scene. Edward wasn't exactly sure why he felt a sharp feeling of _something _hit through him at the pitiful sight of the human girl in such a position, but he ignored it for now.

"S-Shippou-chan, put me to sleep..." Kagome sighed in Japanese, her breathing was getting raspier by the second as the paramedics got to work trying to free her from the damaged car, "T-this hurts... so much."

Shippou actually snarled when Carlisle attempted to push him back, "Move it, or I'll rip out your eyes!" The kitsune threatened, and Carlisle was slightly startled when the red-haired boy's emerald-green eyes flashed a deadly red for moment, only for him to witness. The oldest Cullen gave a slight nod as he moved slightly to the side for the young-looking boy to move a bit forward – though he blocked the sight from the other human paramedics so they wouldn't be able to see what was going on.

"Kagome, you got to look at me," Shippou said in a low tone in Japanese, allowing his fox magic flow up to his eyes, causing them to shine with an ethereal white, "And relax, it's harder for me to affect you because you're a miko."

"I-it smells bad as always...." Kagome gave a half-hearted attempt as a joke as Shippou used his kitsune seduction to 'suggest' for Kagome to go to sleep. The miko was out only a moment later, and Shippou was surprised that his mind control technique worked so quickly – but then sighed when he remembered that Kagome was so injured. Using his pheromones on Kagome usually didn't work (and it usually repelled her because of the 'bad' scent that he produced), but he was glad it worked now.

"What the hell are you?!" Edward said in a low tone as Shippou stepped back in order to allow Carlisle to do his job. The red-haired kitsune simply gave Edward an uninterested glance, as if he weren't even worth his time, "What the hell is that scent?!"

"I'd like to know as well." Alice said quietly, taking a vague whiff of the air, only to smell very seductive-like pheromones. While the scent was rather pleasing, it didn't seem to put them in a trance-like state like it was doing on the other gathered humans.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Shippou sneered, not even taking his alert eyes off of Kagome when she was finally freed from the car, and carefully loaded up onto the stretcher, "Stop hanging around Kagome." Shippou suddenly warned, allowing his fangs to flash from behind his illusion.

"Or what?" Emmett, who was watching the scene from a far in silence, flexed his muscles threateningly, staring down the much smaller male – who didn't seem to be afraid of his larger size. Rosalie simply glanced at her mate from the corner of her eyes, but didn't stop Emmett from his threatening. This red-headed kid deserved a little intimidation just from his arrogant attitude.

Shippou smirked, "You'll regret it, I promise you." He stated in a deadly voice, and much to the Cullens' surprise, he abruptly swung around to hop in the back of the ambulance just as it was leaving.

"What the hell is he?!" Rosalie burst out angrily as they watched the ambulance blare away with its loud sirens, and ignoring how all the humans seemed to be standing around uselessly in a daze-like trance. However, she still noticed that rather seductive scent was still heavy in the air, "His scent is identical to a fox!"

Alice kept calm, "You know that we aren't the only supernatural beings out there. I'm sure that there is some explanation for this," The petit vampire stated, suddenly looking rather excited, "I'll go research some Japanese folklore and see what I can find!" Alice quickly turned to Edward, "Do you want to come, or do you want to go to the hospital?"

Edward made a slight face, "Alice, I don't even get along with Kagome. Why would I want to go to the hospital?" He asked dryly, though he did actually have an urge to go to the hospital to see if the girl was at least going to live.

"C'mon, Edward! Don't be shy!" Alice teased, "I know that you enjoy arguing with Kagome, and how different she seems. She doesn't melt at your feet just by your looks!"

Edward snorted, though he concluded that Alice did have a point. Kagome was strange and different and completely unaffected by his good looks. Not even Bella was immune to his charm....

"I say that we should go and raid the girl's house while she's in the hospital," Rosalie said quietly, causing the vampire clan to glance at her in surprise at the statement, "It might be our only chance to figure out what the hell this girl and that kid are."

"But that's no fun!" Alice pouted, smirking just a bit, "It takes out the fun of this riddle if we solve it right away!"

"This isn't a game!" Rosalie argued, looking slightly startled at Alice disagreed with her, "That girl could be a real threat to us."

"You really think so, Rose?" Emmett said with amusement and with slight disbelief, "I really doubt that the girl and that kid could really do anything, even if they are weird."

Edward sighed, not wanting to get into a big argument with his family, "Alright, we'll do it this way," He stated in a firm voice, "I'll go to the hospital to see if the girl is alright; Alice and Jasper will go where ever to look up Japanese folklore, and Emmett and Rosalie will go check out the girl's place to see if there's anything suspicious."

"Yay, I knew you were on my side, Edward." Alice smiled attractively, dragging Jasper along to the way to the library, "We'll be back!"

"It could be fun, I guess." Emmett shrugged, leaving with Rosalie towards the direction of the girl's home. Edward watching them leave until they were out of sight. He almost sighed, observing the humans lightly for another moment, and how they just finally seemed to snap out of whatever daze they were just in. He also noticed that nice scent no longer seemed to be in the air....

_'That kid can't be human,' _Edward concluded, disappearing out of sight when the humans weren't looking. He quickly made his way to the hospital, bracing himself once again for the seductive allure of Kagome's blood...

It was yet another time he cursed her existence.....

* * *

_Rome, Italy_

"And why the hell are we here?!" Ayame snarled, already fed up by the female dog demon's rather arrogant attitude, "I thought that we were going to follow after the miko. Isn't she in America?!"

"Shut up, you're annoying," Sakuya said dryly, not really listening to the whiny wolf's.... whining. Sakuya sighed dramatically, not exactly sure why she agreed to take along the red-headed wolf in the first place when she would be able to deal with the miko easily herself.

The inu-youkai smirked her red-painted lips, golden eyes flashing at Ayame's question, "You are, in fact, rather useless to me in the way you are," Sakuya bluntly stated, turning to glance back at both Ayame and Hojo, "So, instead of wasting my time – I want you two to investigate something here in Italy for me."

"Excuse me?!" Ayame growled, attractive green eyes darkening in rage. She wanted to go to America so she could strangle the damn miko herself, "I'm not someone who you can just order around!"

Sakuya gave the wolf a bored look, "And I have no interest in bringing you along with me anymore. Instead, you will make another use for me," Sesshoumaru's mother smirked, now directing her conversation towards Hojo – who, surprisingly, hadn't said anything or protested as of yet, "My cute little pup likes to keep his secrets from me!" Sakuya gasped in dramatic horror, putting on her little act, "But I know he has dealt with a secret.... pack, as you could say, here in Italy..."

Sakuya glanced down at Souta, narrowing her eyes just a bit, "In fact, that's where I think I can recognise your scents from. I thought it smelled somewhat familiar," Sakuya stated, "I still do not know what exactly species you or they are, but I intend to find out by using you two." Sakuya gestured to both Hojo and Ayame, smirking once again.

"And I think they go by the name of Volturi...."

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

"They are close, aren't they?" Shiori sighed, looking around with alert violet eyes as she observed the surrounding forest around Kagome's house, "I still don't know what they are." The bat-hanyou frowned, glancing down at Kirara.

Kirara was hissing under her breath, her red-ruby eyes glaring in every direction as she could sense something strange in the woods, "But.... there's no scent of human blood. I don't think these are the ones who killed those humans." Shiori murmured, keeping her eyes open to try and spot the beings that were stationed near Kagome's home.

"Come, they are not going to come any closer." Shiori said quietly, guiding a still hissing Kirara back into the house while giving another brief look to the woods. The hanyou narrowed violet eyes when she swore she spotted a flash of blond, but didn't think much about it as they – whatever they were – didn't seem to want to come any closer.

"What the fuck?!" Rosalie cursed as she and Emmett circled the house, though was unable to get in because of the strange older woman and that little blond girl, "The woman had the scent of a human and a bat mixed together!" She snarled, frustrated with the whole thing.

"Calm down, Rose!" Emmett sighed, though grinned because this was starting to get exciting. It was much better than the normal boring town, and he always liked excitement.

"We'll just try again later."

--

"Do you feel that?" Jacob demanded, looking around warily when he felt shivers running down his spine, "Just now?"

"Feel what?" Bella blinked, looking around doubtfully when Jacob simply shook his long hair in frustration, "Are you alright, Jake?" She asked in a slight concern, watching him intently when he looked around in a paranoid-like manner.

"Yeah.... uh, it's nothing, I guess...." Jacob muttered, though he couldn't get the feeling out of his mind. It was like he was being watched.... though by something very, _very _dangerous. He almost had the feeling like he wanted to flee or something, or get to somewhere safer than this place...

It was just too weird for him....

"Do you think it's that animal that had been killing people?" Bella asked quietly, unconsciously shuffling closer to Jacob. She glanced around, though didn't see anything remotely suspicious.

"No, probably not." Jacob lied, even more wary because he had that exact same thought. He wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder, noticing with a small smile that Bella didn't try to shrug it off this time, "C'mon, let's just go back." He stated, leading the shorted girl back to the main reserve. She followed without hesitation.

"Tch, pathetic senses for a wolf, though I'm surprised he could even sense me just a bit." Kouga muttered to himself, leaning up against the tree he was in. The wolf grinned predatorily, "Looks like I'll just have to force that wolf to reveal himself.... by _force_." Kouga stated to himself rather dangerously, cobalt eyes darkening to an almost black as he lazily switched his gaze over to the human girl the wolf-pup was currently hanging off.

"And there's no better way to challenge a wolf by threatening his mate...."

* * *

Here ya go, there should be a lot more Edward/Kagome interaction next chapter! And if you have time, please go vote on my new poll!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

For the next week, Kagome spent her time in the hospital under the influence of pain medications and muscle relaxants. Edward sighed as he sat by her bedside, unsure of what to think of this recent development. He crossed his arms heavily over his chest, narrowing his golden-black eyes at nothing as muttered words ran across his mind.

_'Hurts'_

_'Where?'_

_'Inu–'_

_'I. Need. You.'_

_'Now'_

Edward blinked, tensing as he was abruptly pushed out of Kagome's mind for what seemed like the millionth time that week. He had found that he was able to partially read the human girl's mind as she lay unconscious, like the barrier that had been denying him before had weakened. He had only been able to read a few words, but it was a surprise to him that he even could do that much.

It simply told him how injured Kagome had been.

"Edward, you do not have to stay here the whole time," Carlisle's alluring voice came from behind him as the doctor came for his daily visit, "I will alert you when she wakes up. She was injured greatly and I do not think it will be any time soon, however." Carlisle looked at his adopted son with concern, seeing that Edward's eyes were flickering back and forth between gold and black, "When was the last time you fed?" He asked, as he prodded lightly at Kagome to see her condition. He raised a brow, very intrigued with his findings. Though, she hadn't woken up from her drug-induced coma, her wounds were healing rather quickly – far too quickly for any normal human.

Edward ran his hand though his reddish hair in frustration, "Just this morning," He stated, feeling his mouth water with sweet venom as he even glanced at the bed-ridden girl, "I shouldn't need to eat just yet." He cursed, wondering why he was so interested in the girl.

Carlisle didn't say a word, unsure of how to console Edward. While the girl's blood was so tempting, it didn't strain his iron-hard control in the very least – however, he did have an idea what the scent might be doing to Edward.

"Fuck, you're here again?"

Both vampires slowly turned around, not at all surprised to see the red-haired boy looking rather annoyed and angry, "What the hell will it take to get you to leave Kagome alone?" Shippou asked, asking no one in particular to answer, though he was clearly directing the question towards Edward, "She has enough to worry about." The fox gave Edward a condescending look as he sat on the edge of Kagome's bed, giving her a concerned look with his brilliant green eyes, "There's no need to gawk. Just leave!" Shippou snarled, seeing that Edward was still standing there.

"Edward," Carlisle warned lowly, giving his adopted son a look when he looked like he was about to protest, "You can come back later." He smiled warmly to Edward, who simply gave Shippou a glare as he did as he was told. The blond vampire then turned to Shippou, who was giving him a smug grin that would have infuriated anyone who didn't have tight control over their emotions, "Now then, I think we need to talk."

"Of course," Shippou shrugged, acting like they were talking about the weather, "Doesn't mean I'll answer anything, though." The fox smirked, his tails snapping back and forth behind his illusion, though the creature before him couldn't see them, "Ask away."

"First of all," Carlisle made sure that no one was around to hear their conversation as his demeanour completely turned around to somewhat threatening, "What are you? You are not a human – and please do not try to hide it." The blond vampire asked calmly, not reacting when the boy's grin widened to being Cheshire-like.

"Ah ~ such a good question!" Shippou teased, smirk widening, "Isn't that what he would all like to know?" The fox suddenly stiffened, his composure hardening to a serious manner, "It's something I would like to know as well. You are not human either." The kitsune shrugged, leaning back, "If you tell me, then I'll tell you."

Carlisle frowned, almost knowing that he would receive this answer from the boy. He also knew that the boy, even though he looked very young, was something not to be underestimated. He was very powerful, judging by his scent. However, the boy didn't actually know what he was – which was a surprise in its self, "I am a–" Carlisle was just about to answer, though a quiet moan from the bed interrupted the two of them.

"Shippou-chan.....?" Kagome slowly rolled over, her blue eyes groggy with sleep and drugs. Both Shippou and Carlisle blinked, surprised that the girl was able to even wake up as she had been induced by drugs, "I.... I – what happened?" She slowly asked, slurring her words ever-so-slightly, "Why I am I here?"

"Kagome!" Shippou instantly forgot about Carlisle as he grinned happily, nuzzling up to Kagome's side as she blinked sluggishly at him, "Don't you remember? You were in a car accident and you've been here for a week!" The fox's attitude went back to being childish in an instant.

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes to try and rid herself of the fatigue that the drugs were causing her mind and body, "Kagome, how are you feeling?" Carlisle was quick to ask, seemingly forgetting about the conversation beforehand as he went into professional mode, "Do you mind if I check you over?" He asked, though didn't want for an answer as he checked the girl's wounds and vital signs.

"Was.... was it really that bad?" Kagome asked quietly, not feeling any pain because of the pain-killers. It was actually quite a nice feeling, though she knew it certainly wasn't natural, "I don't.... remember."

"Now that you're done, you can leave!" Shippou suddenly snapped, seeing that Carlisle was standing there, done with his job, but not leaving the room. The _thing _is just being an annoyance that should be taken down and out.

All of them should be.

Carlisle frowned, but doesn't make a big fuss out of it, "Kagome, should you need anything, just call." He stated, looking at the girl who was drugged and probably couldn't really comprehend anything just yet. The blond vampire left quickly and Shippou sneered.

They needed to take them out _fast_.

* * *

"It's another body," Shiori sighed, glancing down at the human corpse. Kirara lost her human disguise in a blaze of fire, hissing as she glanced around, "It's the third one this week. Whoever is doing this is getting sloppy." The hanyou narrowed her violet eyes, observing the dead human closely, "They die from loss of blood. It narrows it down – whoever is doing this is consuming human blood." Shiori stood up, taking a good whiff of the air. She frowned, taking one last look at the body before glancing down at the snarling Kirara.

"Kirara – I think I know what is doing this," Shiori stated, quickly taking out her cell-phone as she glanced around, feeling a dangerous presence hidden within the woods. It was, with no doubt, what was causing Kirara's reactions, "Shippou will want to know." She had seen this before – had come across _that _species before.

However, she need to confirm it before anything else....

* * *

The feeling of needing to flee was almost completely overwhelming by now.

"I think I'm paranoid," Jacob admitted, running his hands through his long and dark hair, feeling that shiver run through his body once again, "I just can't get rid of this feeling." He sighed, unsure of why he was admitting such a crazy thing to his pseudo-girlfriend. Bella certainly couldn't be impressed with this.

"I'm sure it's going to be fine, Jake," Bella tried to comfort her friend, though she was now wary of her surroundings, "Charlie will catch the animal. It can't run loose forever," Bella swallowed, "I heard that it has killed again." She sighed, though was trying hard to catch up to Jacob's long strides as he obviously wanted to get out of woods as fast as he could. She really did regret inviting him on a hike, she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable.

Jacob simply nodded, the urge to run was just too much for him now, "We have to get out of here, Bella." He said lowly, grabbing her hand with his large one, ignoring her protests as he literally dragged her as they followed the trail back to the main reserve. He apologised lowly, but he couldn't get rid of that paranoid feeling.

"He _still _can't figure it out?" Kouga raised his brow lazily, almost bored with all the trailing he had been doing for the stupid wolf-pup, "I almost feel embarrassed being the same species as him." The wolf demon sighed, shaking his head sadly. He blinked his cobalt eyes, narrowing them a moment later.

He easily leapt to the higher branches, hiding himself in the leaves as he watched something interesting happen. Kouga immediately smirked, watching as a very large black wolf appeared from behind a bunch of trees, sniffing at the ground where he was just standing. The large black wolf growled threateningly, though didn't find his spot as it scampered around, back-trailing until it finally realised that it wouldn't find what it wanted.

It growled loudly once more before running off in a huff.

Kouga grinned, fangs glinting, "Well, well – it seems that one of them actually knows what he is." The wolf youkai's grin suddenly turned into a dark smirk, "But, let's see if I can get that other one to finally reveal himself."

Kouga quickly disappeared from the area in a rapid burst of speed, following that human girl's scent....

* * *

Kagome sighed, mindlessly flipping through the channels of the television as she tried to relieve her boredom, _'What the hell is this?' _The miko thought, raising her brow as she stopped at some sort of anime. She watched it for a few moments, simply perplexed, _'Ugh, this is horrible!' _She winced, quickly changing it to some different channel, _'People shouldn't even try to translate anime into another language other than Japanese.' _She wished that Shippou didn't have to leave, she craved his company.

"Kagome."

The smooth and alluring voice instantly caused her to stiffen and Kagome turned to the door, sighing as she realised who it was, "Edward, nice to see you," She said dully, not sincere in her tone at all. She didn't need his presence right now, "You're the only one?" She asked, watching with disinterest as Edward came in alone. Though she refused to make any friends, she wouldn't have minded Alice's bright personality at that moment.

"Alice wanted to come, but she is busy at the moment," Edward said, his eyes were perfectly golden, "I am here to see how you are." He sat down by the bed, unsure of how to proceed. The following silence was awkward between them.

Kagome couldn't take it anymore, "Why are you here?" She suddenly demanded, turning to look at him straight in the eye, "Why are you so interested? We aren't friends and I don't think that we really even like each other," The miko sighed, tired of his little games, "You don't need to pretend that you are concerned about me."

Edward narrowed his golden eyes, not amused, "Who said I wasn't concerned?" He said in a low tone, frustrated with the whole situation. He didn't want to be interested in Kagome, but he _was_ – and he couldn't help himself. His thoughts were almost always consumed by the human girl, and it was _annoying_, "You are.... interesting to me." He admitted, watching her as she looked at him with widened eyes.

He vaguely noticed that they were different colours again.

"What?" Kagome blinked, not exactly sure how to take that, "You're.... interested in me?" She repeated, but then suddenly rolled her eyes, "Well, that doesn't make you unique or anything. Isn't everyone in this miserable little town interested in me?" She smirked dully, looking away from intense gaze, though she was rapidly losing interest in the entire conversation.

Edward frowned, not liking that she was ignoring him, "Who is Inuyasha?" He asked, almost taken back by her reaction as she immediately stiffened, coughing as she choked on air.

Kagome felt her face heat up as her heart pounded uncontrollably. Her chest hurt, despite the pain-killers she was currently under the influence of, "H-how.... how do you know that name?" She wheezed out, "How do you know that name?" Oh, it hurt so much to hear that name again.

Edward certainly wasn't expecting this reaction, "You were mumbling it when you were unconscious," He said cautiously, lying that he had actually heard the name during the times he could partially read her mind and he was unsure why she was having a panic attack, "I visited you when you were out and you said it numerous times."

Kagome huddled up into herself as she suddenly felt very small in Edward's presence. She desperately tried to get her breathing under control, tensing when she felt Edward's icy-cold hand on her back in order to try and soothe her. It didn't work as she could feel the tears flooding her eyes, which she desperately tried to wipe away before Edward could see them, "H-he's...." She could barely get out the words out, "H-he's dead. Gone." She simply said, looking out the window so she wouldn't have to look at Edward's face.

Edward sighed, not getting the answer that he had wanted, but seeing no point in going any further with his questions. This Inuyasha was obviously important to her, "Kagome, should you need any help with catching with schoolwork, I am here to help and so is Alice." He offered, unsure of why he was doing such a thing when all he wanted was to stay away from her, "I'll come back later if you will allow me to."

Kagome didn't watch as Edward got up and left, feeling the empty void grow even more. It was so horrible that she almost wanted Edward's presence back just so she could focus back on him rather than the emptiness. Her mouth opened before she could even think, "Just stay with me now." She said softly, sinking down in her bed while just trying to focus on the nice feeling the pain-killers gave her.

Edward stopped in the doorway, surprised by her request. He blinked, even more surprised at himself when he found that he actually _wanted _to stay, "You should get some more rest. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." He said lowly, sitting gracefully into the chair as he watched the human girl that intrigued him settle into a deep depression.

He suddenly wished that he had Jasper's ability to manipulate emotions just so that he could try and make the distraught girl forget about her anxiety.

What the hell was happening to him?

* * *

"You're sure about this?" Shippou demanded, his tails swinging in agitation as he sat in a high limb of a tree, "You've come across these creatures before?" He asked, growling lowly as his emerald-green eyes flashed dangerously, "You haven't confirmed it yet?" The fox demon nodded a few more times before he hung up and put his cell-phone away and glared dangerously at the hospital, snarling at nothing.

_'So, vampires do exist after all....'_

* * *

Sorry for the long wait!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

_Forks, Washington State, USA_

Bella hunched over, feeling shivers creep up her spine as she glanced around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but she didn't let down her guard. Charlie had made it clear to her that an animal was causing all of the recent deaths in the area and she knew she would be easy prey for it.

And despite being with Jacob, the feeling simply did not get any better.

_'Could it really be vampires?' _She thought with a light frown, not noticing how Jacob pulled her closer to his body – his burning-hot body – and shrunk into herself, _'Was Edward lying to me? Maybe they aren't really 'vegetarians' as they claim to be.' _Bella scrunched her pale face, feeling hurt build in her stomach because the thought was painful.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Jacob muttered over and over, sweating profusely as he glanced around wildly. He was unsure why he felt so... animalistic at the moment, but whatever was following them was on _his _territory and threatening his potential mate.

He couldn't let it play its game anymore...

"Come out! Now!" Jacob suddenly snarled, his eyes dilating as Bella gasped with fright at his sudden rage. He merely pushed her behind him in response, hunching over protectively as his wild eyes darted around the woods, seeing trees and nothing much more than that.

However, both tensed as a feral laugh sounded from above them, from within the branches of the tree. Bella whimpered as a large figure dropped down from them, vaguely noticing that he wasn't a vampire because he had cobalt-blue eyes instead of the various shades of black, yellow, or red that vampires possessed.

"Who the hell are you?" Jacob struggled with his words, almost wanting to fall down and just collapse because he just felt so very sick. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and his temperature rose even more, "And why have you been following us?"

Bella grasped Jacob's shirt so hard that it hurt when the rather attractive man smirked viciously at them; his cobalt eyes seemed to be focused completely on her, "Is that the best you can do?" The man spoke in a fierce voice, though it sounded largely uninterested, "Threaten me with petty words, pup?"

"I-is it you?" Bella spoke up, despite the obvious crack in her voice, "A-are you the one killing the hikers?" She demanded with a slight stutter, clenching her fingers when the male simply laughed at her in a very mocking way.

"And if it was?" The male grinned darkly, "What could you possibly do about it?" He snorted, his long ponytail swinging around, "I could kill you two right here and nobody would ever find you." The man revealed his hand, in which his fingers were tipped in sharp-looking claws.

Bella gasped again and Jacob panted, groaning as something just seemed to snap within his chest, "Show me your true form, pup. I want to see it." The mysterious male demanded, disappearing with a fast blur.

Clothes ripped, russet fur appeared, and a howl shook the forest.

Bella fell to the ground in shock as she stared into intelligent eyes that screamed 'Jacob'.

_A wolf took his place_...

* * *

"Really now," Kagome sighed with annoyed exasperation, "It's not necessary to come and visit me all the time. You aren't responsible for my accident." She snorted, lazily flicking through the channels on the television and didn't even bother to glance at Edward to see if he was listening.

Edward ran his hand through his messy hair in that human-like gesture, "I told you," He gritted out, a bit frustrated with this girl's attitude. She was nothing like Bella, who was attracted wholly to him and just couldn't seem to stay away. However, with this girl – she was the complete opposite; she _wanted _him to stay away for reasons he did not yet understand, "I'm... interested in you." He admitted again, ignoring how the human rolled her unique eyes at him.

"Is this considered stalking?" Kagome wondered out loud, and Edward froze at the word because it reminded him of invading Bella's room at night without her permission just so he could watch her sleep. The past memories filled him with disgust and he felt his hatred for himself grow even more, "Relax, I'm kidding." She added blandly, seeing his darkened face and grew wary of it.

"Alice... would like to see you," Edward changed the subject quickly, "Jasper as well. Is that all right?" He asked, though it sounded much more like a demand to the miko.

"I suppose so." Kagome said carefully, cursing herself internally. She didn't come here to make any friends and yet these Cullens', especially Alice, just seemed so pushy that it was hard to refuse. If the circumstances were any different, then perhaps she and Alice could have been very good friends, but it just wasn't.

She couldn't put anyone at risk because of her selfish behaviour and desire to have companions once more...

"She'll be here, no matter your answer." Edward murmured, reading his adopted sister's mind as it wasn't too far away. In fact, she was already in the hospital, along with Jasper. He ignored how she sighed and slumped down her pillow even further, _'Did you find anything?' _The vampire demanded, linking his mind with Alice's and communicating that way, _'At the library?'_

_'Did you really expect us to?' _Alice's amused voice answered, _'The library isn't exactly stocked on Japanese legends and mythology. And I couldn't find anything useful in Esme's collection. We'll just have to go to Seattle or Port Angeles to see if we can find something. I want to see Kagome first, though!'_

Edward frowned, a bit disappointed that Alice didn't find anything useful as of yet, "Is she coming now?" Kagome asked with that same bland tone that got on Edward's nerves. Weren't humans supposed to be the same or really similar to each other? Was this girl only different – like Bella – because he couldn't read her mind?

_'No, it's different than that,' _Edward thought, closing his eyes and lightly took in Kagome's appealing scent, _'This girl – she's even more different than Bella is. I don't know what it is yet.' _The vampire frowned, finding that was the reason why he was so interested in Kagome.

He wanted to find out her past secrets.

"Yes, she is here." Edward answered shortly, observing as Kagome sighed, as if she were resigning herself to something and he didn't blame her. Alice could be overwhelming to anyone, and even come off as demanding and freakish – he got tired of her too, sometimes.

"Ohh ~ Kagome!" The door suddenly opened and Alice sang out her name in the most annoying tone possible, though the miko couldn't bring herself to be irritated or angry, "I came to see if you are all right! Jasper did, too!" The petite vampire smiled appealingly, tugging along the slower Jasper.

"Hey," Kagome lazily acknowledged, flicking her eyes back to the television, "You didn't really need to trouble yourself. I'm fine." She gave a strained smile, though she felt the very opposite.

Damn – she wanted to go home right now...

"It's no trouble at all!" Alice waved it away, sitting down on the edge of the plain bed with grace that no human would possess, "Are you in any pain?" She asked with concern, giving a subtle whiff of the air and scenting the captivating blood.

_'Can you do anything?' _Edward demanded mentally of Jasper, who merely pursed his lips tightly and stared dully back, _'Make her feel any better?'_

_'No,' _Jasper calmly replied back, not even attempting to do so after his last try, _'There is something completely blocking the girl. It would seem that none of our powers can affect her – even Alice has trouble seeing her future.' _

_'But you could manipulate Bella's emotions; why not hers?' _Edward felt like sighing, yet held it back. He watched as Alice held a mostly one-sided conversation with Kagome, slightly amused as Kagome seemed wholly uninterested with the whole process.

_'I do not know,' _Jasper gave a simple answer, _'You have to remember that all humans are not clones of each other, no matter how much you conditioned yourself to believe so.' _The blond gave Edward a blank stare and the vampire glared back, releasing the link that connected Jasper's mind with his.

"When you get out, would you like to come shopping with me?" Alice immediately pounced on the chance to get to know the miko better, "There isn't too much in Forks, but we could always go to Seattle or even Port Angeles if you like! I'll even buy for you if you're not willing to spend any money!"

"No, I couldn't impose on you," Kagome was quick to respond, determined to distance herself from Alice and the rest of the Cullens', "I have plenty money of my own." The miko's smile was strained again, _'But I definitely can't waste it on clothes because I have a psychotic female dog demon after my life.' _She finished mentally, sighing as pain shot up her body once more.

"Nonsense!" Alice wouldn't have it, "Shopping should take your mind off of things!" She lowered her voice, "I'm sure you have a lot to think about." She added softly, much to Kagome's unease.

_'Did I talk in my sleep again?' _The miko thought, remembering that Edward knew about Inuyasha's existence because her of sleep-talking. She didn't want to reveal any more of her past to them, "Yes, I do," Kagome nodded, giving them a dull look, "I'm tired."

"Oh ~ well! I'll come back to visit you later when you get bored!" Alice stood up with the same grace, grabbing Jasper's arm with her dainty hands, "Come on, Edward! I'm sure you've annoyed Kagome enough today!" She snickered at Edward's irritated expression and Kagome's amused one.

"I'll see you later." Edward promised with a low tone, hesitantly touching Kagome's hand with his ice-cold one; very aware how she jumped slightly at the contact.

"Yeah." Kagome berated herself mentally and turned back to the channel she was watching while trying to forget what had just happened.

She couldn't be drawn in by them.

* * *

"What do you think?" Shiori asked seriously, her violet eyes looking darkly towards Shippou, "Do you think my idea holds potential?" She glanced back down at the body, frowning at the lack of blood.

"Well," Shippou sighed, his tails twitching with agitation, "I've actually never come across this species before, not like you have," The fox sniffed the air, scrunching his nose at the scent he was coming to despise, "But I'm definitely not arguing with you – you're the expert." Shippou grinned at her in a perverse way that caused her to look back at him in disgust.

"Hardly," Shiori huffed, rolling her eyes at the sex-addicted kitsune, "But, do you think that Sakuya is possibly sending these vampires – if that's what is causing this – after Kagome-sama?"

"I doubt it," The red-head shook his head, glancing back at Shiori with serious green eyes, "I'm not sure about a vampire's abilities, but I think the bitch would most likely look down on such creatures." Shippou huffed with disgust at the thought of Sesshoumaru's mother, still almost unable to believe that she would actually attempt to kill Kagome.

"True enough," Shiori replied grimly, sighing as she stood up from her crouched position, "Do you think we should warn Kagome-sama about these vampires?" The bat-hanyou asked, watching as Shippou adopted a thoughtful expression to his boyish face.

"She's pretty hurt right now," He admitted, worried about the miko, "I don't think we should worry her anymore; it would just cause her more stress. Let's just keep quiet about this until we can absolutely confirm it – and just hope we can take out these vampires before Kagome can catch on," The fox also stood up, glancing down at the nekomate, "Kirara – you should go back to the hospital and watch over Kagome just in case."

The pair watched as Kirara transformed into her human-child self in a blaze of fire, giving one mew before pouncing off gracefully after her former mistress' best friend.

"And where are you going?" Shiori raised a brow and watched as Shippou concealed his fox-like features using his suppressing spell, "Leaving me all alone?" Her tone changed into a teasing manner.

"Sure, come if you want." Shippou purred darkly, bounding off quickly as Shiori followed him rather easily. He glared at nothing; his darkened eyes flickering back and forth between red and green.

_'Kouga's already on his job by trailing after those wolves he sensed,' _Shippou thought, flying through the trees at a pace that would only appear as a quick blur to human eyes, _'So, it's my turn to do what I should've done first thing.' _The fox's eyes finally settled on a deep-crimson red.

_'It's time I confront those Cullens... and kill them!'_

* * *

_Rome, Italy_

"I can't believe that bitch just left us here!" Ayame growled, huffing as the strange creature beside her didn't respond at all, "Aren't you angry as well?" She demanded, finally catching Hojo's attention, "I mean, you _are _after Kagome, aren't you?"

"Yes, I would like to see Higurashi-san again," Hojo admitted, wondering what exactly this girl standing beside him was. Another demon perhaps? He would really like to know what type, but was too polite to ask, "I haven't seen her in a while long." His attractive smile turned into something longing and even slightly bitter.

"Hmmph, that bitch is stealing _my _Kouga!" Ayame snarled, unable to come up with a reason as to why Kagome seemed to attract so many, "But, I think we could work something out between us if you're willing to take Kagome away." The red-headed wolf purred, smirking as Hojo's surprised face.

Hojo didn't say anything, unsure how to react because he didn't know what to do, "Who's Kouga?" He asked instead, "I think I have heard Higurashi-san use that name before."

"Whatever," Ayame rolled her brilliant eyes, already irritated with this male. She ignored his question for now and grew determined to bring Hojo on her side so she could mate with her Kouga and push that miko out of the picture, "Let's just go and find this 'Volturi' so we can get out of here faster." She muttered, not willing to disobey Sakuya because she _was _the current Lady of the House of the Moon.

It just wouldn't be very wise to deceive the western dog pack and she liked her life.

"All right," Hojo sighed, flipping on the hood higher over his head to avoid the direct contact with the sunlight (as he had figured out a rather interesting feature about his new... abilities when in sunlight). He ignored how the girls glanced at his attractive pale face from underneath the hood with very visible interest and how they tried getting his attention in various ways (some of them outright... slutty, in his humble opinion).

Hojo allowed a determined expression to appear on his stony features, ignoring everything around him and focused his mind on only two tasks.

Find this Volturi and then find Higurashi-san, no matter the cost.

She was the only one for him – he would allow no other.

* * *

_London, Great Britain_

"Only one more flight and we will arrive," Sakuya purred, giving a sly smirk to Kohaku and Souta, at which, the former glared at her heavily. She easily ignored it, being used to the taijiya-pup's anger directed towards herself, "And we will be able to find your sister." She said in a false kindness to Souta, who looked rather uneasy at her attention.

"So," Souta eagerly turned away from Sakuya and to Kohaku, "How's your name Higurashi?" He asked, and Kohaku was glad to hear that Souta used no condescending tone, it was only filled with curiosity.

"I was the original six who began the Higurashi line over five hundred years ago," Kohaku said simply, "The others were my sister, Sango, and her husband, Miroku; a kind old woman named Kaede; a little girl named Rin," Souta immediately noticed how Kohaku's hardened features softened at the mention of Rin, "And of course, your sister, Kagome-sama."

"Yeah, but..." Souta looked away at his next question, "That was five hundred years ago! How are you still alive if you're only human?" He asked quietly, not looking when Kohaku glanced down at him.

Kohaku's smile was blank once again and didn't reach his dulled eyes.

"My life is directly connected to Kagome-sama's spiritual powers because she sustains me. If she dies, then I will die as well."

* * *

I'm sorry this took so long again! But I admit that I lost a lot of interest in this because of my dislike of many Twilight characters now... however, I will continue on because so many of you like this story. So, I would really appreciate any words of encouragement from you, please take the time to review if you can!


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